Legion
by Conejo-sama
Summary: When he is reborn, Jack Frost encounters a girl named Wynter, who shares the same interest in mischief-making. One night, the moon calls his friend away, leaving Jack utterly alone. Years later, Jack befriends Alba Bennett, who is somehow linked to his lost memories. Will Jack answer the call of the Moon, or will he stray away to find out about his forgotten past? JackxOC
1. Prologue

**Loved this movie the moment I saw the trailer. I wanted to read the novels by William Joyce (because he's one of the greatest writers/producers of all time) before I saw this movie, but I couldn't wait this time! All my childhood characters brought together in this epic movie—it's like a dream come true! And when I saw the trailer, I immediately came up with this idea.**

******A/N: I know a bunch of people are already creating OCs for Jack and pairing him up with other characters from other others, like Merida (I've seen it all on Deviantart), but I don't care. I made my own OC for Jack and she's not a Mary Sue.**

* * *

**Prologue**

The first time I saw her was the first time I felt this chill crawling down my spine.

I first saw her on the ice where I was supposedly born. She was standing on the frozen lake, sliding and laughing to her heart's content. She wore no shoes, much like me, making her susceptible to the cold. But she didn't seem cold. She didn't even look cold. She just looked happy. I admired her spirit, her happy-go-lucky spirit, and as much as I wanted to join her, I knew it would be pointless. I had just walked through a village of people who literally passed through me like a mist. Instead, I took pleasure in just watching her do what I love.

Day by day I came back to that same frozen lake just to watch her glide on the ice, and everyday I craved to jump out of my hiding spot and join her. I'd never seen anyone as beautiful as her. Her hair was as white as snow. Her skin glowed flawlessly. Her eyes were the most magnificent dove gray. As she danced on the ice, her dress spun buoyantly like a flower. And despite the cold, her lips were pink like a cherry blossom. Everything about her was just so perfect.

Then I saw the crack. A familiar dread permeated through every inch of my body as it spread from under her feet. She didn't seem to notice. Without thinking I reached out my hand and a stream of frost flew out of my fingertips, sealing the cracks. The girl stopped dancing and turned. Her curious gray eyes were looking straight at me. I pulled back when I realized what I'd done.

I would've hid. I would've just ran like a coward, but then I saw the expression on her face. She could see me. She was _looking_ straight at _me_. She was the first person to actually see me in the light since I emerged from my perpetual rest in the frozen ice. Now that I'd finally been noticed, I had no idea how to react.

"It's about time you came out," she said. Her voice was light and sweet and welcoming. It told me I had nothing to fear.

"Y-You…" I stopped and coughed. My voice was hoarse for some reason. "You knew I was there?"

"The whole time," she said proudly.

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because I was waiting for you to come out." She jumped off the ice and on to the clean snow. "I thought you were afraid of me," she teased.

"I-I didn't… I didn't know what to say."

"A simple 'hello' is usually a good start."

I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out. How was I supposed to know I wasn't invisible to her? I didn't even know who I was let alone what I was capable of. I could've froze her. Wasn't she the least bit scared?

"I know you wouldn't hurt me," she suddenly said. She gently sat on the snow, not bothered by the wetness. "It's okay. If I was you, I would be hesitant to talk to me, too. And I wouldn't want to waste my time."

"Why is that?"

"Because in a few days, I'm going to disappear."

I joined her in the snow. "You mean you're leaving?"

"Something like that," she replied nonchalantly. "I can't stay in the same place forever, not when I'm so alone. I thought I'd enjoy my last few days here enjoying this nice weather. I wanted a companion, but my only potential friends are the animals, and they're not very apt to playing." She looked up to a tree where two squirrels were watching them. As soon as she looked at them they scurried away. "When I noticed you hiding behind those trees, I thought of approaching you, but you seemed too nervous for some reason, yet you kept coming back everyday. You must like me otherwise you wouldn't have returned."

I laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess you could say I'm shy. I'm very… different from other people. I don't even know what I am—I mean _who_ I am," I quickly corrected myself.

By the smirk on her face, I knew she had caught my error but it didn't seem to bother her. "I guess we have a lot in common."

I looked at her, mesmerized. She smiled at me as if I was her best friend. I liked it. "I guess we do."

She suddenly looked up at the sky. It was a full moon. "I need to go." She stood, brushing off the snow like dust. Her dress wasn't even wet. "It was nice meeting you." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" I jumped up with a start. This was our first conversation; I didn't want it to end so soon knowing her time was limited. If I were never to see her again, who would I call a friend? "What's your name?" I asked.

"They call me… Wynter."

"I'm… Jack. Jack Frost. Or at least, that was what the moon told me. I don't remember who I am."

She smiled sympathetically. "That's okay. I don't remember much of my life, either. Maybe we can make some new memories."

"Yeah… I'd like that. Will I see you again?"

She nodded reassuringly. "Same place tomorrow."

Gracefully, Wynter walked behind a tree and disappeared. I quickly ran up to see my friend off but she was already gone. The next moment, I saw a light flying off towards the moon. That was Wynter, my Wynter, the only friend I had, and the only light I could rely on in this dark time.

For the next month, it was the same routine. I would return to the lake where I was born and saw her there dancing and laughing to her heart's desire, just as before. But this time I joined her own the ice, showed off my new powers, and she would simply laugh at our frivolous merrymaking. I took her through the skies, we danced through the trees, we even had a few snowball fights, which usually ended in a draw. I had never had so much fun. I didn't want it to end, but knowing it would end some day, I relished every moment I had with Wynter.

The next night I knew would be her last. She was on the lake just as she always was, but she wasn't dancing. She wasn't laughing. She wasn't even smiling. That was when I realized she was leaving me.

"Jack, I want you to have something," she said.

Nothing brought more pain in my heart than hearing those words; this was her goodbye. I knew she was just trying to make it as painless as possible, but it was still unbearable.

"Here." She took my hand and tenderly set down a small, round object before tightening my fingers.

I opened my hand. It was hard and smooth like a pearl. It was laced with a gold band and attached to a frail string. Under the light of the moon, it was shiny and white—pure white, like her flawless skin. "What is it?"

"It's something that is very dear to me. It holds my most precious memories. I want you to have it."

I shook my hand. "No, Wynter. Let's skate. Let's have a snowball fight. Just, _please_, don't end it like this. You're the only friend I've got."

"It's not the end." She took my hand again. "I will come back, but not for a while." She looked at the sky. It was a full moon. "I have to go."

"No."

"Promise me—"

"Wynter, no—!"

"Promise me," she said more firmly. I kept my mouth shut. "Keep this with you at all times so you'll remember and I will come back."

I nodded. "I will never forget you, Wynter."

A sad smile graced her pink lips. "And I will never forget you, Jack Frost."

She took me in her embrace. I reluctantly put my arms around her knowing I was going to have to let go. Once we let go of each other, I saw her dove gray eyes were glassy. No doubt mine were the same. "And you'll come back right here, right?" I asked. My voice was already quivering.

"Of course." She began to step away, but not before she gave me a kiss on the check. "And remember, Jack," she whispered. "When the moon is calling you, listen."

She backed up until she was at the center of the frozen lake. What I saw next was something I remember perfectly to this day. She was a glowing vision. The light from the moon shone over her until the last bit of her I saw was her radiant smile. She was a pure light. She spun around several times before shooting straight up to the sky, more directly towards the moon. I tightened my grasp on the pearly orb in my hand and clenched it to my chest. When the light dissipated, I never felt so cold. "Goodbye, Wynter."

The next day I didn't see Wynter. Though a part of me anticipated her daily appearance, I knew I shouldn't have been surprised she would not show up. The only friend I had and she was already gone. She had flown off to the moon, the ringleader of my troubles. He still hadn't answered my pleas, my questions—Who was I? Where did I come from? Why was I here? Why was I given this gift?—but those queries were forgotten when I thought of Wynter. Where had Wynter gone? Why was she taken from me? Surely the moon would know. I was yet to receive an answer.

Every year, for the last 295 years, I have come back to the place where I was born, where we first met, in the hope that she would return to me. It had been so long I was starting to give up. I spent most of my days germinating frost, making snow days around the holidays, and spreading anonymous joy to the children who silently appreciated it. I lived by no rules or responsibilities.

I have spent 300 years doing what I love the most in memory of her.

But then one day, on _that_ day, my forgotten search had been revived. Just when spring was about to arrive, Wynter had returned.

**-X-**

"Alba! Don't go outside without your hat!"

"Sure, Mom!"

Alba Bennett slung her ice skates over her shoulders and grabbed her hat before racing out the door. Winter had always been her favorite time of year, especially near the peak of spring. The temperature was perfect (at least for her) and the ice was always clear, perfect for skating.

She cut through the neighborhood, entering her cousin's yard. She saw her little cousin Jamie playing with his new grey hound puppy. When he spotted his favorite older cousin, he waved happily. "Hi, Alba!"

"Hey, Jamie. See ya, Jamie!"

"Wait, where are you going?"

"The lake! I'll be back later!"

"Can I come?"

Alba regretted looking at him after he asked. He had that puppy-dog look in his eyes. "Um… maybe tomorrow, Jamie. I promise I'll teach you how to skate some other time, okay?"

He sighed in disappointment. "Okay."

She ruffled his hair. "Don't be so down. I'll see ya later."

She ran off to the lake where the smooth ice was waiting for her. She quickly pulled off her boots and put on her skates. Once they were on, Alba glided on the surface. There was something about ice skating, and the winter in general, that made her feel like a free spirit. Her mind was aloof, and she was unaware of all the danger that surrounded her.

After a pirouette, Alba suddenly heard a crack beneath her feet. Looking down, she gasped at the fissure forming in the ice. She was abruptly pulled off the ice and fell back into the snow. She turned and saw a boy with white hair. He was pale and his frosty eyes held fear and shock.

"Who are you?"

He stepped back a bit, as if she were some kind of disease. "Y-You can see me?"

"Of course I can. You saved my life, didn't you?" She stood up carefully. "Wait, are you trying to prank me?"

"No! It's just that…" He gazed into her gray eyes. "Nobody is usually able to see me."

"Really?" She looked at him warily. "Why not? Are you a ghost or something?"

"No. But I can do this." He blow into his hand, creating a snowball.

"Whoa… I don't know any ghost that can do that…" She gasped. "You're Jack Frost!"

He smiled brightly. "Yeah, that's right! How'd you know?"

"Well, you're magic, kind of like Santa Claus."

His smile dropped. "You still believe in Santa Claus?"

"Yeah, so what?"

Jack Frost looked over her. "You seem a little old to believe in that kind of stuff."

She frowned at him. "You sound like my parents. I'm thirteen, smart guy. And you're never to old to believe." She noticed he was still staring at her, as if it was too good to be true. "You keep giving me this look. Has it really been that long since anyone's talked to you?"

"Not really. Sometimes I mess with the Guardians."

"The Guardians?"

"You know, Santa, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and that dumb rabbit."

"So they're real?" she asked in excitement.

He shrugged indifferently. "As real as you and me, except kids can see the other guys. No one believes in me, so they can't see me."

"Well… I can see you." Jack smiled again. Alba also grinned. She didn't like it when he frowned; he looked better with that smile, and more handsome. "Aren't you cold in those rags?"

He shrugged again. "I don't mind the cold. I'm Jack Frost, remember?"

"Well, you still shouldn't be walking around in that, even if other people can't see you." She took off her blue hoody. "Here."

"Hey, you don't have to do that."

"I want to. It's too big for me, anyway. Take it."

Jack took off his dirty shawl and put on the hoody. "Hey, it fits. Thanks…"

"Alba. Alba Bennett."

A subtle breeze passed, making Alba shiver a little. "I should go. My mom will kill me if she sees me without a jacket." Alba quickly changed out of her skates and began running home. "It was nice meeting you, Jack!"

"Wait! Will I see you again?"

"Of course! Same place tomorrow."

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_**R&R!**_


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

_**5 YEARS LATER…**_

"Mom, I'm going out!"

"Wait for your cousin!"

"She's already outside!"

"And wear your hat, Jamie! You wouldn't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose!"

She laughed. She always thought that saying was funny because of the meaning behind it. The personification of winter was never really considered by anyone, except maybe people like Robert Frost, but to her, references to the seasons and holidays were a part of a childhood that would never end.

"Alba!"

Her pensive thoughts were disrupted when her little cousin Jamie finally came out. His little sister Sophie and dog Abigail also joined him. However, poor little Sophie tripped over the last step and fell on her knees. Even though there was not a single scratch or scrape, the toddler began to cry. Quickly, she went to her little cousin's aide. "What's wrong Sophie? Did you trip? Do you have a boo-boo?" The toddler nodded as she sniffled. "Well, I know how to make it better." She began blowing kisses all over the little girl's face, and she began laughing feverishly. "All better?"

"All better!"

Alba set Sophie down and allowed her to roam the yard until her mother came and picked her up. "You two make sure you're careful," she said.

"Don't worry, Aunt Carol. I'll make sure Jamie doesn't get into any trouble."

"Hey!" the little boy cried as he glared at his older cousin.

Jamie's mom smiled. "All right. You kids have fun."

When they went back inside, Jamie went to get his sled. "Why do you let her call you a kid?" he asked. "You're not a kid. You're practically an adult."

"First of all, I'm 17," Alba protested, "so I'm still a kid."

"No, you're not. You're a _teenager_."

She glared at him and continued. "Second, if you still believe in Santa Claus, you're still a kid in my book. And I'm not officially an adult until my 18th birthday, which is in three days. Plus being an adult is lame, and it's definitely not as fun as being a kid. You work more, play less, and you definitely don't have time for…" She stopped when a snowball suddenly hit Jamie at the back of the head. "Snowball fights."

Searching for the culprit, Alba spotted a boy standing behind the fence next to Jamie's house. He was about her age, and he was quite attractive. But he also held some unusual features: white hair, pale skin, and frosty blue eyes. He wore nothing but a blue hoody and jaded brown pants that ended around his ankles. His feet were bare. He had a mischievous glimmer in his eyes; this was how she grew to know her friend.

Jamie was already packing snow and throwing it at his friends as they appeared around the corner. Before she could slip away from the bedlam, a harsh patch of wetness hit the back of her neck. She sharply turned, glaring straight at the white-haired boy. He simply winked at her before slipping behind the fence. She ran over to see where he'd run off, but by the time she reached the fence he was already gone. She sighed. "No fair," she pouted.

"Alba!" She turned away from the fence when she heard her name distraughtly. "Jamie fell on his sled and now he's sliding through the streets!"

"What?" Alba suddenly spotted her cousin, who was already diving into a pile of snow in front of the park statue. She ran across the street without a second thought, his friends fast in her stead. "Jamie, what happened?"

The little boy was sprawled face first in the pile of snow. He struggled to get up, but as soon as he was on his feet, he immediately shouted with joy. "_Woo-hoo!_ Did you _see_ that?"

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Who cares? Did you see how I flew? It was _awesome!_"

She looked back at the heavy traffic. There was an accident on the intersection, and she had a feeling a certain white-haired boy had something to do with it. "So much for keeping you out of trouble," she murmured. "Well, I see you're perfectly fine. Have fun with your friends, Jamie. If Aunt Carol asks, I'm at the lake as usual."

"See ya later, Alba!" Jamie waved at his cousin as his friends began to swarm him. She waved back before heading back to the house.

Next to the porch steps were a pair of dirty, white, overused skates. Though their qualities appeared jaded they were still durable, the perfect pair of blades to glean the ice. She cut through the neighborhood past the park until, finally, she had reached the miniscule wood that surrounded the frozen water. It was a beauty. Even something as insignificant as a small pond could still possess such splendor.

As she slipped on her ice skates, Alba thought back to her theory of nonage. Sure, she was a oncoming adult, but she still felt like a kid on the inside—like a really big kid who could legally drive and… shaved. It was weird. Never in her life had she ever felt like she was growing up. Not when she was ten, or eleven, or twelve, or thirteen, or fourteen—every year was just an increasing number and yet she felt no older. And now that she was graduating, she had no idea what to do for the rest of her life.

Ever since she was little, Alba Bennett had tried many recreational things that she'd thought she would be good at—writing, drawing, acting, music, singing, dancing—but she only favored one: ice-skating. It was her passion, but it wasn't something she wanted to accomplish professionally. It was only a hobby. And she didn't want to be tied down with just one career, either. She wanted to wander, to be free to do whatever, _whenever_. If only life were that simple.

As she laced her last boot, Alba began to hum to herself. The shallow hum slowly turned into a light mum of The Christmas Song. For some reason, she adored that song. It was her favorite ever since she was small. "_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose…_"

She stopped when she heard a rustle coming from behind. She caught a glimpse of blue and white in her periphery. She stood as steadily as she could. When she saw the familiar boy hiding behind a tree, she smirked. She slowly reached down and scooped up a handful of snow. She started the sing from the top, gradually ebbing towards the part she had stopped on as she packed in the snow and walked around the tree he was hiding. The boy didn't seem to be paying attention. Perfect. "_Jack Frost nipping…_"

When she stopped, he peered around the tree. That gave her a perfect view of his backside. With a simple flick of the wrist, she threw the slush ball at the back of his head. He jumped in shock. He turned around and gawked at the mischievous girl. "No fair! It's not even the Christmas season! And you know that song always catches me off guard."

"Why? Because it has your name in it?"

"Well, wouldn't your favorite song have your name in it?"

"Considering the number of songs that have the name 'Alba' in them I'd have to say no. Oh, and thanks for throwing that snowball at me, coward."

Jack scoffed. "I'm not a coward."

"Who ran away when the snowball fight was just getting started?"

"Who said I was running away?"

"Okay, then." She threw another one that she had hidden behind her.

"Oh, it's on now!"

"Bring it, Frosty!"

They were at it for 10 minutes, deciding to make it a draw. They stopped to rest and sat at the edge of the lake. From what he knew about her after all these years, Jack was found out that when it came to snowball fights, Alba was a champ.

Throughout those five years, he found out many other interesting things about Alba. For one thing, she _loved_ the ice and snow. She especially loved winter, mostly because her birthday bordered between the Easter season, when winter would be exchanged for spring. It was always a beautiful time of year.

Alba was adopted. Her parents were very loving and very trustworthy, so Alba grew up in a very open environment, allowing her to be the expressive, exuberant kid she was even at this age. She lived her whole life doing what she loved no matter what people thought or said. She never usually questioned who her birth parents were because her surrogate parents were great people. They raised her and loved her since she was an infant. And she was sure, whoever her parents were, they would've been happy to see their daughter happy.

"But haven't you ever wondered where you could've come from?" Jack asked her. "Or have you even thought about finding out where they were just so you could meet them?" He question was more out of the curiosity due to his lack of knowledge to his own past. If he was in her shoes and there was a possibility of finding out where he came from, why wouldn't he take that chance? Alba seemed to disagree.

She thought about his question for a second before shrugging indifferently. "No, not really. I mean, my life's great as it is. And even if I did find my parents, it wouldn't change anything."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Maybe… I have asked before," she confessed. "I was six when they told me about my adoption. I didn't really care, I guess because I was too young to understand what an adoption was. But then I asked them about my real parents. They told me they had no idea where I was from. I was just dropped off on their doorstep in a basket, no note or nothing. It was kind of strange."

"So, your parents just left you…"

"Maybe not. Maybe they just couldn't take care of me. Either way, I ended up in a nice home with loving parents. What more could I want?" She frowned when she saw the expression on his face. "Hey, what's with the brooding? We're talking about _my_ life, remember?"

"I know. It's just…"

"Just what?" she inquired.

"Today's the anniversary of when I got my powers, when I became Jack Frost. It's also the day I lost everything. I'd give anything to have a home, a family—heck, just to be _visible_! I mean, did you see how Jamie and his friends were when he found his tooth? It was like they forgot about all the fun we had. It was just about the Tooth Fairy. Tomorrow, it'll just be about that Easter Kangaroo."

"Easter Bunny."

"Whatever! The point is it happens all the time, and it just makes me sick. Sure, having these powers is cool and all, but…" He held out his hand, forming a miniature version of himself, along with a group of people who she assumed were his makeshift family. "It can get weary being alone sometimes."

Alba smiled sympathetically. She didn't know how to comfort him. He had told her about his sad tale once before. He had been on this earth for a long time, and she was the only person who could physically see him; it had to be miserable being visible to one person, besides the Guardians, most of your life. Most of his life was a total blank. There was no one in his past life he could remember. He couldn't even celebrate a birthday; it only reminded him of his loss.

"Oh! That reminds," she suddenly spoke, "my birthday's three days after Easter this year. I'm turning eighteen, so my parents decided to throw me this party. It's just going to be my family, so I expect you to be there."

He gave her that impish smirk he always held on his face before he caused mischief. "Aren't I always?"

She smiled. She loved seeing that grin on his face. The frown never suited him.

"Well, I should go." Alba began to change back into her boots. As soon as she was done, she stood. "I'm staying over Jamie's tonight, so you know where to meet me."

Jack also stood. "You know, you never did give him those skating lessons."

"That' because he got disinterested as soon as he got that sled for Christmas last year."

"Oh yeah…" Jack remembered that year. Greatest snow day ever.

"You know, you shouldn't think too much about this being lonely thing. Like I've always said, you have me. And if you'd stop being so stubborn, maybe you could befriend the Guardians." Jack blew a raspberry. "Well, maybe not the Easter Bunny, but I'm sure you could get along with the others if you tried."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like that's ever going to happen."

"Well, at least think about it." Before she left, Alba kissed his cheek. "Don't be late."

He held his now warm cheek for a moment before giving her his signature smile. "Alba, when have I ever been late?"

"We'll see." She strapped her blades over her shoulder and waved him goodbye as she headed back home. Jack waved back before he flew away.

Alba did trust Jack. She always had ever since they met. When she was thirteen, Jack often went by her house to visit her. However, she was unaware of this, so it was no surprise she nearly screamed bloody murder when she saw a white-haired boy floating outside her window one night. From then on she decided to meet him outside instead of having him stare. It eventually turned into a tradition every winter. Nighttime felt magical around that time. He hadn't missed a night since then, and she didn't count on him to miss now.

"And it's not like he's going to get kidnapped by some yetis."

She laughed at the thought as she walked home.

* * *

_**R&R~!**_


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The day was halfway over and I already felt exhausted—emotionally exhausted, that is. Alba had that kind of effect on me. This friendship we had developed from a simple kindergarten meeting into… this. We were both teenagers (even though I was a few hundred years older than her), and I wasn't going to lie to myself; I had a crush on Alba. And I was sure she liked me, too, but it obvious we weren't going to confess to each other any time soon.

As I thought about these feeling, I felt that chill crawling up his spine again. I never felt this way until I met Wynter. Maybe that was why I felt so close to Alba; she and Wynter were similar in so many ways. Their laugh, their happy-go-lucky spirit, and especially their gray eyes—oh man, I loved those gray eyes.

That was the first thing I noticed when I first met Alba. As soon as I saw her eyes, I was immediately drawn to her. She was just skating by herself, and then the crack appeared in the ice. It was just like that moment when I first met Wynter, but I didn't expect to grab her, to be able to _touch_ her, that day. Alba was like Wynter's clone, except she had ebony hair and more color to her face. I thought it was strange I hadn't discovered her until _that_ day, the day I lost Wynter. Then I found out she had just moved into the neighborhood _that_ winter. It couldn't have been a coincidence.

"No, it has to be. Alba's not Wynter. Wynter's not Alba…" I repeated the mantra to myself whenever I came close to those confusing thoughts. Wynter's token hung on a stronger chain around my neck thumping against my chest like my rapid heartbeat.

Alba might've looked like Wynter, but I knew they were different. While Wynter was my first friend, I knew Alba longer. I felt closer to her than I did anybody. But I could never forget Wynter; I felt as if I had known her for centuries. And the resemblance between the two of them was very uncanny. I wouldn't have been surprised if the moon was playing tricks on me, like when he took Wynter away from me. I wasn't going to fall for it again. This time, I wasn't going to lose Alba.

I suppressed those ugly thoughts to the back of my head as I took a tour through, well, the whole state. Michigan hadn't changed very much this year. It was still homey and…

I stopped and drew out my staff. I knew someone was following me; maybe walking through an empty alleyway wasn't the smartest thing to do, even if you did have mystical powers.

"Hello, mate…"

When I spotted the tall ears and the boomerang, I knew I was in trouble. However, it was hard to feel intimidated by a pair of bunny ears and a pink button nose. He still had that terrible grudge about the blizzard of '68 (when was he going to stop crying about that?), but I guess having two yetis stuff me in a sack and throwing me through a magic portal was revenge enough. Could my day get any better?

"There he is! Jack Frost!" In front of me, the rest of the gang stood.

The Guardians weren't a group I liked getting associated with too much, especially that rabbit. North was the jolly St. Nick man that no standee at the mall could get right. Then there was the Tooth Fairy, who was giddy to probe through my mouth to check if all my molars and incisors were intact, and a few of her fairies accompanied her, making googly eyes and swooning over when they saw me (though who could blame them?). The silent Sandman stood aloft with his friends with that cheeky smile, signaling with his sand how he felt about my appearance. Along with that rabbit, the whole gang was there.

"I hope the yetis treated you well."

"Yeah, I love being shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal."

"Oh! Good, that was my idea!"

I guess the Guardians still hadn't gone over sarcasm with the big guy.

"Do you guys want to explain _why_ you kidnapped me in the first place?"

The rabbit grunted begrudgingly. Yeah, he was no help. North was the first to speak out. At first, I thought he wanted to discuss my naughty list record, but Christmas was long gone until December and I could've cared less. But then he explained how the Man in the Moon sent them a message saying that he had assigned a new Guardian: me.

"What makes you think I want to be a Guardian?"

"Because you were chosen—"

"It doesn't matter what the Man in the Moon told you! If he won't bother to talk to me himself then I want nothing to do with any of his plans. Besides, you don't want me. You're all 'hard work' and 'deadlines', and I'm snowballs and fun times. I'm not a Guardian."

"Jack," Tooth Fairy said, "I don't think you understand what it is we do." She flew up to North's giant globe, which was labeled in Russian. "Each of those lights is a child."

"And good or bad, naughty or nice," said North, "we protect them."

"Um… no thanks."

"I say we're better off without him," the rabbit finally spoke up. "I mean, what does this clown know about bringing joy to children, anyway?" He began to scratch the back of his ear with his foot. This was why I didn't like rodents.

"Uh, you ever hear of a snow day? I know it's no 'hard-boiled egg' but kids like what I do."

"But none of them believe in you, do they?"

"Bunny!" Tooth Fairy scolded. "Enough."

"No," I said. "The kangaroo is right."

"The—The what? What'd you call me? I'm _not_ a kangaroo, mate." He came towards me until we were face-to-face. I held my glare even when I saw his pink nose in my face. "I'm a bunny. The _Easter_ Bunny. And kids _do_ believe in me."

I was about to come up with another comeback, but I was wasting too much time as it was. "Aw, screw it. I don't have time for this. I'd appreciate it if you guys just sent me back to where you found me. I need to be somewhere right about now." I couldn't tell what time it was since we were all the way in the North Pole, but it had to be nighttime already in Michigan. Alba was waiting for me.

"Why are you in such a rush to leave, mate? Do you have a date or something? Oh, wait a minute! No one even knows you exist."

I clutched my staff so hard I was surprised it hadn't snapped already. "That's not true," I uttered. "Someone _does_ believe in me."

"You don't count."

"Bunnymund," North chastised.

There was no way that dumb rabbit was going to get away with that, especially with that stupid smirk on his face. My pride wouldn't let it go. Even if it was just one person, that one person was the only one who made a difference. "Alba Bennett."

All the Guardians suddenly froze at the mention of her name. "Alba Bennett," North muttered. "_The_ Alba Bennett who's been on my Nice list for 17 consecutive years?"

"I-I guess…"

"_The_ Alba Bennett who's never had a tooth out of place or a cavity in her life?" Tooth Fairy asked.

"I don't normally pay attention to her hygiene but—"

"The Alba Bennett who's almost caught me setting the eggs out for the Easter Egg Hunts?"

"Oh! She almost caught one of my fairies when she was eight!"

Sandy gestured to himself and made a little figure of Alba out of sand, which I guess meant she almost spotted him while he was working his magic during the night to help children sleep.

"And me on Christmas Eve," North informed. Everybody was staring at me now.

"Okay…" I said awkwardly. I suddenly felt less special, and a little awkward, at the moment. Of course they would know who Alba was. I just didn't expect them to be so savvy about her. There had to be over a billion kids in the world; the fact that they remembered Alba was astonishing. "How come you all know Alba so well?"

North's eyes suddenly turned hard. "Come with me."

North hustled me through his workshop. It was actually fascinating seeing the workshop for the very first time, but Santa was in such a rush I barely had time to look at anything. "Whoa! Slow down, would ya! I've been trying to bust in here for years! I wanna good look!"

"What do you mean 'bust in'?"

"Whoa! Don't worry. I never get past the yetis."

The yetis looked at me warily as did St. Nick. "Keep up!"

I stopped a few times watching the yetis at their work stations. This was not at all how I pictured it. "I've always thought the elves made the toys."

"We just let them believe that," North whispered so the elves wouldn't hear.

He then led me into what I assumed was his private workshop. It had an ice sculpture of a fancy railway that went around like a rollercoaster. The train that ran was also made of ice. Above my head, a wooden plane flew without any assistance from batteries or even the wind. That was the power of ole' St. Nick right in the bag.

"So, Alba has spoken to you _and_ seen you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've known her for five years," I confessed. I suddenly forgot about the magical toys. "She's the only person who's ever believed in me."

"I see…"

"Why are you guys so interested in Alba? The world is filled with billions of kids. There's no way you could keep track of all of them and still concentrate solely on her."

North began to adjust some of the toys on his self. "Well, first off, it's our job. Second, children can only hold so much faith for so long. It isn't until their parents dissuade their belief in us when they begin to lose their sight and we are invisible to them. Usually, that doesn't happen until they reach their early teens. Alba is 17 going on 18; she is nearly an adult. Her faith in us is unusually strong and we had no idea why. It's all because of you, Jack."

"That… can't be true. She believed in you guys long before I met her, and that was when she was thirteen." Although I felt a sense of pride for having such an influence on my friend, I didn't want to believe that the only reason she still believed in Santa and the Tooth Fairy was because of me. Blind faith didn't count for squat. "Earlier, you said she almost caught you, and so did the others. You mind explaining that?"

North laughed nostalgically. "Ah, yes. As a little girl, Alba used to sleep downstairs and wait for me to come down the chimney on Christmas Eve. She almost caught me while I was eating one of her mother's delicious oatmeal cookies." He held his jelly-belly and chuckled. "Perhaps I shouldn't speak of her so highly."

"Why?"

"Because…" He looked around his workshop as if to make sure no one was listening. He came up close to me and whispered. "The Guardians all adore Alba."

"… And?"

"We're the Guardians of Childhood, Jack! Each child is special in their own way, which is why we love them all. We're not supposed to have favorites! Alba, however, has always been different from all the other children in the world. She's… _well_… How should I put this?… the perfect child."

I laughed. "You should start hanging around kids more often, North. They're all very far from perfect."

"I know. But Alba has always been one of a kind. No child has ever been so persistent about their childhood beliefs before. In fact, she's the only child who's never had a nightmare."

"She hasn't?" No wonder they thought so highly of her. I knew Alba was special but… it was like I never knew her at all. "How is that even possible? She has to be afraid of _something_."

Instead of answering me, North completely changed the subject. "Anyway, enough about Alba! Let's talk about your new position as a fellow Guardian!"

"Oh, here we go! Nothing you say is going to change my mind, North. I think it would be better if I didn't get involved with you guys at all. I told you I'm no Guardian. Responsibility is not my forte."

"That's where you're wrong, Jack."

"How am I wrong? I've been completely useless to you guys for 300 years! Why am I suddenly so important now?"

North hesitated for a moment. "It is our job to protect the children of the world. Now we face a threat greater than ever before, and we need your help."

"Come on. What could be so bad that you need _my_ help?"

"Pitch is back."

"Pitch… Black? The Boogeyman?" I had heard about this guy a few times. He was the completely opposite of Sandman; he gave children nightmares instead of dreams. I didn't think Pitch was such a big deal since most kids didn't believe in him either, but if he was able to have the Guardians summon each other together and have them so desperate to ask _me_ for help, then it must've been serious. But there was no way I could possibly help them. "I think the only person who has any chance of going up against him is Sandy. Besides, the kangaroo might be right. How am I supposed to help a bunch of kids who don't even believe in me?"

"That is why you are important. You have something very special inside, and we can't do it without you.

"Well… What if 'MiM' is wrong? What if there's nothing special inside of me?"

North smiled. "You will find it, Jack. It's in here somewhere." He picked my chest. "It is only a matter of time."

I sighed. I doubted there was anything special about me besides my powers, but a part of me wanted to see if "MiM" was right about me being a capable Guardian. But then another part of me reminded me that I still had to meet up with Alba tonight, if it wasn't too late.

However, before I ask North to take me back home, the kangaroo busted in with a distraught look on his face. "Something's happening at the Tooth palace!"

It was too late now. I was a part of this mayhem and there was no way out.

I only hoped Alba would forgive me.

* * *

_**R&R!**_


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: I forgot to mention that the plot of this story happens throughout the movie, so there will be spoilers. Sorry. So if you haven't seen the movie, I suggest you go and watch it (because it's epic!) before reading this. I can wait for your reviews!**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

It was only a quarter to nine and Alba was still awaiting Jack's arrival. He didn't usually show up until midnight, but she always anticipated his appearance even when Jamie and Sophie were still awake. And whenever they were, she always shared a story with them. However, Jamie decided to share his little skating accident instead.

"You know, Jamie, that was a very dangerous stunt you pulled."

"I didn't do it!" he claimed. "I-I mean I did, but—I don't know! It was like something had dragged me along the ride! One minute, I'm falling on my sled, then the next I'm riding down the street! I didn't even know I could do that!"

Alba shook her head. If only he knew.

"And then I got hit by a couch and look!" Jamie showed the gap in his mouth. Sophie laughed and pointed at it. "Tonight, I'm finally going to catch her. I'm going to see the Tooth Fairy, and Sophie will help me!" He turned to the little girl on his bed. "How about it, Soph! You and me looking out for the Tooth Fairy! What do you say?" Sophie nodded enthusiastically.

"I don't know about that, Jamie," Alba said. "She's not going to come out when you're still awake, just like the Easter Bunny isn't going to come out during the day to hand over his eggs during the hunt tomorrow."

"You don't know that. I'm telling you, Alba, one day I'm going to catch them. Just like Bigfoot!"

Alba almost rolled her eyes. The Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny were one thing, but Bigfoot?

"All right, Jamie, that's enough excitement for one day," Jamie and Sophie's mom said when she entered the room. "It's time for you two to go to bed." She picked Sophie up from the bed and attacked her with kisses, making the little girl giggle even more. "Alba, you obviously have no curfew, but I wouldn't advise you to stay up too late."

"Don't worry, Aunt Carol. I think I'll head in early, too." Alba ruffled Jamie's head before she got up from his bed and gave Sophie a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Sophie. Goodnight Jamie, and good luck."

"'Night Alba!"

Once she was in her room, Alba went straight to the window and continued to look out for Jack. She could stay up for hours if she wanted to, mostly because of the show she usually saw from her house. Right on cue, the streams of dream sand began to float through the neighborhood using magic on the children to put them into a blissful sleep. She had never seen the Sandman herself, but Alba always knew whenever he was around, the Guardians weren't that far away, either.

Jack was yet to appear.

She glanced at the clock. It was a quarter to ten. Jack still had time. For the meantime, Alba would submit to the sand and fall asleep into her own dream. However, the night didn't seem to bless her with the same peaceful reveries the other children were having.

**-X-**

She didn't like this dream. It wasn't sweet or fantastical like the others. It felt more real, more like a memory, except she couldn't remember any part of her life being like _this_.

It was dark, and cold. Not the nice cold that came with snowball fights, snowflakes, and ice skates. No, this cold was lonesome and fearful. She couldn't see a thing. She could only hear voices, utterly terrified voices.

"Mommy!"

"It's so dark!"

"Mommy, where are you!"

"Help!"

She heard children. Hundreds—no, _thousands_ of frightened voices practically reaching out for someone to protect them. The more they cried, the more she felt that they were reaching out to _her_. She didn't know why. All she wanted to do was help them, to stop their tears, and to alleviate their fears.

"It's okay," she said. Her voice was soothing and reassuring. She had to make sure these children knew they had someone looking out for them. But not even her soothing voice was enough to calm the impalpable children.

"Mommy!"

"It's too dark!"

"Don't let the Boogeyman get me!"

It didn't seem to stop. Their cries were pure torture, especially since she was stuck in a dark place herself. It pained her heart knowing she couldn't help them. It made her feel helpless, and to her, that was probably the worst feeling of all.

The shouts of the children suddenly quieted until she could only hear two distinctive voices. A little boy and a little girl. At first, she thought it was Jamie and Sophie, but she didn't recognize these voices.

Then she saw it. A flicker of light. She saw a family, a mother and two children, sitting by a bonfire. They were all dressed in old-fashioned attire—the 1700s, if she remembered well from history class. The children huddled near their mother.

A shadow slowly began to approach them. The shadow looked human, but the being itself seemed monstrous. She saw what it was doing to the family. Even with the protection of their mother, who also seemed scared behind belief, the children were extremely terrified.

She didn't know why, but she felt obligated to protect them. She flew over the shadow and approached the two children. When they saw her, they cowered even more. "It's okay, it's okay," she cooed. "The dark doesn't always have to be so scary. Look." When she gestured out towards the shadow, it transformed into a bunny. It shrunk until the real rabbit hopped out and approached the children curiously. The children smiled and laughed and released their mother to play with the docile animal.

Seeing the children smile like that made her happy. She never liked seeing kids sad, especially her little cousins. But even though she didn't know who these children were, she felt extremely close to them.

"See. Even in the dark, you can still find light."

A roar erupted, disrupting the scene and spiraling her into darkness once more.

"_**You stupid, petulant child! How dare you!"**_

She was now in a dungeon. It was dull and gray. Above her head hung several cages big enough to fit a condor. She didn't remember this part of the dream. "W-Where…?"

"_**After all these years, you still manage to make my job difficult. Very well. I will soon return the favor. Enjoy all the dreams you can for now, my dear, because they may be your very last…"**_

Tremendous laughter filled up the vapid chamber, echoing into a much more dastardly chortle. The darkness continued to take over until she felt no more.

"_Wynter…!"_

**-X-**

Alba woke up in a cold sweat. She never had a nightmare before, as far as she could remember. But that was the most realistic dream she ever had.

She remembered having the same dream on several accounts, specifically during a full moon. She remembered the children and their mother huddled in the dark near a weak bonfire. She remembered showing the rabbit that hid under the shadows, the little ray of sunshine that was merely concealed by the darkness. But the desolate voice had never been a part of that fantasy, and neither was the dungeon she was pulled into. And why did someone shout out to her like that?

Alba glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost midnight. She got out of bed and went to the window. Jack still wasn't here. She was starting to think he would never appear, but then she shook it off. She was just being impatient.

In the hallway, she suddenly heard a clatter and barking coming from the other room. Jamie's room. What on earth was he doing at this hour?

Followed by the crashing sounds came the laughter of a little girl. The lights were also on. Sophie was up, too. When Alba went outside, she saw Sophie wandering the halls. "Sophie, why are you up?"

She pointed to Jamie's room excitedly. "Jamie!"

"Did Jamie wake you?" Sophie answered with more giggles. "Let's see what Jamie's up to, okay? But we have to be quiet so your mom doesn't wake up." Alba took Sophie's little hand and signaled her to walk quietly before they went to Jamie's room.

When she opened the door, the light in the hall filled up Jamie's room, revealing the cause of the clatter. Alba's eyes dilated in disbelief. Sprawled all over Jamie's room were the Guardians—Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny (minus Sandman)—snoozing either on the floor or on the bed with Jamie. It was like a dream come true, a very strange dream come true. The Tooth Fairy was most likely here to exchange Jamie's tooth, but what were the others doing here, why were they all asleep, and where was the Sandman? She had a feeling Jack also had something to do with this. Maybe that was why he hadn't shown up at her window.

Yet he still wasn't here.

Sophie went over to Santa, who was the only one who could possible fit on the bed and allow Jamie to have any room. The toddler tried getting on the bed by tugging on Santa's heavy coat when something slid out and fell on the floor. The object rolled down to Sophie's feet. It was a snow globe. Sophie picked it up.

"Sophie!" Alba said in a hushed tone. "Sophie, I don't think…"

But Sophie wasn't paying attention to her older cousin. Since she was so young, Sophie had a one track mind. Her only focus was on the pretty snow globe. Then she saw the oversized rabbit curled up on the floor. "Bunny!" She shook the globe and an image appeared.

Alba saw a beautiful field with spring flowers and giant stone statues that looked like eggs. That must've been where the Easter Bunny lived. It looked like spring, majestic and peaceful in nature.

In all her excitement, Sophie accidentally dropped the globe on the floor. Alba expected it to shatter as soon as it made contact with the floor, but instead, it transformed into a swirling portal that led to the majestic field. Captivated by the image in front of her, the little girl automatically walked towards it.

"Sophie! Come back!" The toddler continued to ignore her and went into the portal.

Alba quickly went after her before the portal closed. "Aunt Carol is going to kill me."

The view was more dazzling on the other side. The flowers were fragrant and more florid than she thought. It was warm. An occasional breeze passed, but it was a nice, balmy breeze. The area was so peaceful. That peace was shortly interrupted when she heard her little cousin was running through the field of flowers, laughing to her hearts content. Alba began to laugh and run with her, as if Sophie's euphoria was contagious, and they both fell in heated exhaustion.

Sophie quickly sat up when she became captivated by a pink tulip. When she reached out to touch it, its petal bloomed open, revealing a small egg in the center. And when she thought this place couldn't get any more magical, the egg popped up, revealing its small, skinny legs, and began to walk down the flower's petals.

There was so much Alba could take in one night. She had to draw the line somewhere; seeing a walking egg was enough to make her hyperventilate. She needed to lie down, splash some water in her face, something to cool her down so she wouldn't faint. If only Jack were here; a simple touch would do the trick. But even the water in the stream looked too enchanting and she was afraid of what might happen if she were to touch it.

It wasn't that this place was too unbelievable. She had so many dreams about where the Guardians could've lived. This hidden meadow wasn't even close to the burrow she thought the Easter Bunny inhabited. But it was so incredible that it was overwhelming. Her dreams couldn't even compare to this.

"Okay Alba, calm down," she said to herself. "You're in a meadow, a magic meadow, with magic flowers that bloom eggs with legs. You dream about this stuff all the time! Well, obviously not _all_ of this, but… Your best friend's can fly for Pete's sake! If you can handle that, then this should be a piece of cake." Several more flowers bloomed, and more eggs walked around the meadow. "Although, it might take some getting used. Like ten or twenty years of getting used to."

Alba felt something bump against her feet. Below her, several more eggs passed under her legs and around her feet. One of them accidentally bumped into her leg and fell over. She laughed a little, feeling pity for the poor thing. (It had to be hard to walk when you had no eyes or arms.) "Hey, little guy," she said. She picked up the toppling egg. It shook violently in her hand. The little thing must've been scared. The creatures in this world probably weren't accustomed to having anyone but the Easter Bunny touch them. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Alba!" Alba turned and saw Sophie carrying two eggs. Their legs kicked uselessly as they tried to get out of the little girl's hold. "Look! Look! Look!"

"I think Sophie's the only one you have to worry about."

The little girl laughed and ran about looking for more of them. "Sophie, where are you going?" Alba asked. It was hard keeping track of Sophie. She had no idea how a toddler could have so much energy this late at night (or in this case, morning).

But Alba could never find herself to get frustrated at Sophie. She was still young, naïve to most things that hid in this world, especially the dark things like the ones in her dream. She wanted to protect both of her cousins from those things for as long as she could, so she gladly welcomed their childish antics.

"Sophie!" she called out. The egg she was holding jumped out of her hand and circled her feet. "Hey, what are you doing?" It bumped her a few times and ran forward before stopping short. "You want me to follow you?" It ran again, and this time it didn't wait for her. Alba quickly followed it until she found a tunnel. Sophie was chasing after more of the eggs on the other side.

Alba laughed. "Sophie, leave those poor eggs alone!" She picked up her egg friend and started after her cousin again. "Slow down, Sophie!" The darkness of the tunnel wasn't helping, but Sophie's laughter helped her find her way.

Luckily, Sophie had stopped so she could catch her breath. "Oh, Sophie! I thought I'd never catch up to you…" Alba stopped as well. Before them stood the Guardians (minus Sandman), along with her friend, Jack Frost.

"Alba? Sophie?"

"Jack?"

"Elf!" Sophie dropped all of her eggs and began to chase the little elf that had also accompanied the Guardians. "Elf! Elf! Elf!"

"_боже мой_," said Santa. Since when was he Russian? "By MiM's beard, it's Alba Bennett."

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a beard, mate," said the Easter Bunny, who happened to be Australian.

"Is it really her?" The woman covered in dazzling feathers flew over to her. Her feathers were iridescent green with speckles of gold, pink, and blue. She reminded Alba of a hummingbird. "Oh! It is her! I recognize those bicuspids anywhere!" She probed through the young lady's mouth vivaciously. "They're so beautiful!"

"Um, Tooth," Jack said. "You might want to get out of her mouth and fly a few paces back."

"Why?"

_THUMP._

Reaching the peak of her fervent excitement, Alba Bennett had finally crashed under the pressure and fainted in the Warren of the Easter Bunny.

Jack winced when she hit the ground. "Oh boy."

* * *

_**R&R!**_


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

This was the worst day of my life.

I let two friends down. Not only that, this whole night was just filled with disasters.

First I skipped out on my meeting with Alba. I couldn't even tell her why I couldn't be there. She probably hated my guts right about now. Then Tooth lost her fairies thanks to the nightmares of the Boogeyman, except for the one I was able to save, Baby-Tooth. They were also able to steal all the teeth in Tooth's palace, which was slowly coming apart. We weren't tooth fairies, but together we were able to make Tooth's delivers for the night, but then at our last stop, which so happened to be Jamie's house, Jamie found saw us—well, not all of us—and we had to deal with a rowdy grey hound. After Sandy was able to put the dog and Jamie to sleep, along with the rest of the Guardians, Pitch and his nightmares came and Sandy… I can't even speak of it.

It made me so sick knowing I let so many people down tonight, especially the kids. Without Sandy, they had no one to look out for them during the night, and their dreams would be consumed by Pitch's nightmares. Santa had told me Alba never had a nightmare in her entire life. Now that Sandy was gone, would she be able to handle everything Pitch could throw? Alba was like a kid herself. I wondered if she was even safe being alone at night.

Back at Santa's workshop, I sat in his private little study and sat at the window, contemplating what took place tonight. North came in to comfort me, I guess. I knew it wasn't going to work.

"You didn't want to be at the ceremony?"

"I would've been out of place." I tapped the window with my staff. The frost formed into a tiny Sandman. "I told you I'm not a Guardian. I couldn't handle Pitch. I wasn't there for Sandy when he needed me. I wasn't meant to do this."

"You did everything you could, Jack. We all did. And you have to remember, you stood up to Pitch!"

"But Sandy would've—"

"Been proud of you."

I looked away. This was one of those rare moments when I wanted to cry, and the last thing I needed was for the rabbit to come in here and catch me with tears in my eyes. I took a deep breath, preventing the tears from brimming.

Santa and I later joined the others back outside in the workshop. It seemed he and the others had already started our next little expedition. Easter was just around the corner, so we were going to the rabbit's Warren to help him prepare and to defend against Pitch. The big guy was going to take us on his sled again (I didn't complain), but the rabbit had another idea.

"It's my Warren, mate, so we're gonna go my way. Buckle up."

He thumped his giant foot on the ground. North said something in Russian before we all plummeted down a rabbit hole. I have to say, this was just as fun as being on the sled. It was like going down a giant moss-covered slide. Some people couldn't handle it, like the big guy, who rolled down like a ball, and Tooth, who wasn't used to the closed space that restricted her from using her wings. And then there was the yeti, who was just as big as Santa, and the elf, who was practically getting crushed by them all. I heard Bunnymund laughing in the back, most likely enjoying the show.

Once we were outside the hole, we all toppled over each other, except for the rabbit, who bounded out of the way.

"Buckle up. That's funny," Santa muttered realizing the rabbit had used his earlier joke. Bunnymund smirked at him.

Behind him, giant walking stone statues shaped like eggs approached. Their surfaces were carved with creepy smiles. Everything else was more spring-like, with its colorful flowers and clear blue sky. It was balmy, not something I was used to. In fact, I was totally out of my element. I knew the rabbit and I were opposites, but I didn't think he'd live in a place like this. Of course, what else would you expect from the Easter Bunny?

"Everyone, welcome to the Warren." His ears suddenly perked up. His stone eggs switched their creepy smiley faces to creepy menacing faces. "Something's here."

We all turned our attention to the tunnel where Bunnymund heard the sound. With a battle cry from the Russian Claus, we all ran towards the trespassers. Out of the tunnel ran a little girl carrying a bunch of eggs. Sophie, to be exact. Someone else ran in after her. "Oh, Sophie! I thought I'd never catch up to you…" It turned out to be my friend, Alba, who was carrying her own little egg. I couldn't believe they were here, and by the look on her face, she couldn't believe it, either.

"Alba? Sophie?"

"Jack?"

"Elf! Elf! Elf!" I watched as Sophie ran around chasing the poor elf who came with us, but my attention quickly went back to Alba.

I was sure everything she'd seen so far was shocking, but there was only one thing I didn't understand. How did she and Sophie even get here in the first place? I knew we were all wondering the same thing, but the Guardians seemed to be more focused on Alba herself rather than how she ended up here, except for maybe the rabbit, who was trying to keep Sophie away from his precious eggs.

"_боже мой_," said Santa, though no one could understand him. "By MiM's beard, it's Alba Bennett."

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a beard, mate," said the rabbit.

"Is it really her?" Tooth immediately flew up to her and didn't hesitate to probe her mouth like she did to me last night. "Oh! It is her! I recognize those bicuspids anywhere! They're so beautiful!"

When I saw the look on Alba's face, I became alert. "Um, Tooth, you might want to get out of her mouth and fly a few paces back," I said cautiously.

"Why?"

Too late. Alba fainted. I winced as soon as she hit the ground. "Oh boy." I went over and picked her up.

"What happened to her?"

"She fainted from the stress of seeing her childhood heroes," I explained. I set her down on a slighted boulder. I didn't think she'd react this way, though. I told her about the Guardians a million times, and not to mention _I_ was her best friend. If she couldn't handle this, I was definitely afraid of what would happen if Pitch got a hold of her.

With that scary thought, I immediately began trying to bring her back into consciousness. I patted her cheek softly. "Come on, Alba. Wake up." She was still unresponsive. "Oh man…" I couldn't think of anything else. She needed some cool, like water or…

I nearly face-palmed myself.

I laid my cool hand on her cheek. The freezing sensation finally woke her up and she jumped with a start. "Santa! Tooth Fairy! Elf…!"

"Alba, calm down!"

When she saw me, she sighed in relief. "Oh, Jack. I'm so glad you're here. I was having the craziest dream. Sophie and I wandered into the Easter Bunny's sanctuary and the flowers bloomed walking eggs and then I saw…" She froze when she saw the others behind him. "… the Guardians. I'm sitting here in front of the Guardians… in my pjs… Jack…?" All I could do was shrug.

"Little Alba Bennett!" North cried. "Oh, you've grown into such a _fata mare!_" The big guy picked her up and crushed her in a bear hug. She was still a little out of it, though.

"Alba, you're not going to faint again, are you?"

"No." Once Santa put her down, she was practically beaming. "Jack, it's actually Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus! I got a hug from _the_ Santa Claus!" She was like a child on Christmas morning. I was glad she was okay but a bit steamed that the Guardians took all the glory once again. Well, at least she wasn't freaking out anymore.

"Alba!" Sophie ran over and pointed at Bunnymund. I nearly laughed when I saw him; he looked so miserable trying to get this hyperactive kid under control while the rest of us had our attention on Alba. "Bunny!"

"Can you get that little ankle-biter under control, mate?" he said irately. "How on Earth did you two get into my Warren, anyway?"

"Sophie grabbed this snow globe, and…"

North muttered something in Russian angrily. A toddler got a hold of his magic snow globe, most likely while he was snoozing in Jamie's bed back in Burgess. I would've been mad, too, if anyone got a hold of my staff.

Sophie began running around again, chasing the elf. "I'm sorry," Alba said. "She's been like this all night."

"Don't worry," Tooth said. "I'll handle this." She flew over to the little girl, who was easily captivated by the flying lady covered in colorful feathers. "Hello, little one. Oh! You're so cute!"

"Pretty!"

"_Aw!_ I've got something for you, little one." She held out a few teeth that had a bit of red on them. "Look at the pretty teeth! The little blood and gum on them!" At that moment, Sophie did what any little kid her age would do at the sight of blood: she ran away crying. Alba was able to calm her down until she was back to her old giggly self.

I shook my head. This was unbelievable. "Blood and gums? Do you guys have any idea how to handle kids?"

"Jack, we're too busy protecting the children of the world," North quickly moved aside as Sophie ran by, "to deal with children."

Yep, unbelievable. I knew these guys were busy fulfilling the wishes of kids all over the world, but they had to have some kind of interaction with them. However, after seeing the way they shied away from Sophie as she ran about, I knew that wasn't the case.

I suddenly came up with an idea. I looked at Alba, who already knew what I was planning. She had always had a knack for reading my mind, and this time, she seemed right on with my plan.

I blew a little snowflake and had it land on Bunnymund's pink nose. My winter magic soon took over, and the rabbit was more than happy to allow Sophie join us in coloring the eggs for Easter tomorrow.

Before following the others, I saw Alba kneeling down to pick up the egg I saw her carrying earlier. "This little guy already got attached to me," she said. "Do you think I should name him?" I laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You're such a kid."

"Look who's talking!"

We stared at each other funnily before busting out laughing. I missed this. It felt like ages since I talked to Alba, even though we just hung out together less than 23 hours ago. I had been working so hard helping the Guardians I almost forgot what it was like to have fun, though for me, that was possible. No wonder the Guardians were so out of touch with kids. Would I end up like that if I became a Guardian?

"Hey, Jack. Are you okay?"

Alba looked at me, concerned. I smiled to put her at ease. "Yeah. Now I am." I took her hand. "Let's go color some eggs." I never thought I'd say that.

It was actually kind of fun seeing the egg-coloring process. The eggs bloomed out of the flowers like Alba had mentioned earlier. Then they all assembled into a colorful lake that had the viscosity of ink. Alba stayed with her egg most of the endeavor. She colored it, spooled the design on its shell, and the egg stayed with her the whole way. As I watched them, I couldn't help think how happy she was now, and what would happen if Pitch were to catch her. Alba could be taken away from me, like Wynter…

_No! Stop that! Don't think like that!_

But I couldn't help it. After my first private conversation with North, I couldn't shake these thoughts. He was hiding something from me, and if he wasn't going to tell me, then I would just have to ask the others.

I left Alba's side for the moment and went up to Bunnymund. Watching him was the most amusing. He led Sophie step-by-step and even allowed her to ride on his back like a horse. Now, as the day started to end (or in Burgess's case, begin), the toddler tuckered out and snuggled into the giant rabbit's lap. Seeing him like that with little Sophie was humorous and a little… cute (I never thought I'd say that, either).

"The ankle-biter's kind of cute when she's asleep," he said.

"Yeah… Uh, I'm sorry for the… kangaroo thing earlier."

"It's the accent, isn't it?"

"Um… Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Well… North said that you all favor Alba above all the other kids. Is that really true?"

Suddenly, a nostalgic look came over the rabbit as he glanced down at the little girl in his arms. "She's the most adorable little tyke I've ever known, besides this one," he said, "and she's the most tolerable, but she wasn't our first favorite. There was a girl by the name of Wynter."

"Wait, wait, wait. You guys knew Wynter?"

"Yeah. You know her?"

"She was my best friend—my first friend, when I became who I am. But then she had to leave and I haven't seen her since."

"Well, I'm sorry about that, mate, but we don't know where she is, either. She just up and disappeared on all of us. To the Guardians, she was the perfect child. She was filled with so much wonder, imagination, hope…" A yawn from Sophie interrupted him, distracting him for a second. "She had so much courage. She wasn't afraid of the unknown. She kind of reminds me of you, except she wasn't a hellion."

"I think that was the nicest thing you ever said to me." I wiped an invisible teardrop from my eye. "You really do care."

He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we don't like talking about her much, but it's hard with Alba around. They're alike in more ways than we thought, and as much as we love her, we _can't_ dwell on it. Kids aren't kids forever and it doesn't take much for them to lose their belief in us. It's amazing Alba has had this much faith for so long. She seems especially fond of you."

"I told you someone believes in me," I gloated.

He chuckled. "Sorry about that, mate."

"Ah, water under the bridge."

This was the first civil conversation I ever had with the dumb rabbit. I would've made fun of him for being a big softy earlier, but even I submitted to the sleepy toddler. I never thought I could get along with Bunnymund. It turned out we had a lot in common despite our opposing natures. I was glad the others weren't here to see this; they would never let us live this down, especially Alba.

After a while, the Guardians and Alba soon joined us and watched Sophie as she snuggled into Bunnymund's arms. "She's always much easier to handle when she gets tired," said Alba.

"I love her," said Tooth.

"I think it's about time we take this li'l rugrat home," said the rabbit.

"I'll take her."

Alba set down her new egg friend first, who was now blue speckled with white and gold. She actually looked a bit sad about leaving her friend here, and I was sure if the little guy had a face, he'd be crying his eyes out. The blue egg slowly began to wobble over to his brethren so he could also be a part of the egg hunt.

As soon as Sophie was in her arms, Alba took out the snow globe (I wondered where she could've possibly hidden it). "It was really… awesome meeting all of you," she said. "Sophie and I had a lot of fun. I just hope when I get back home this isn't some kind of dream."

As she was saying goodbye to us, I couldn't help thinking what would happen to her once she and Sophie were back home. They were vulnerable against Pitch. I didn't feel too comfortable with Alba—and Sophie—and Jamie—being by themselves for the remainder of the night. "I'll go with you."

"Jack…" North said. I knew the Guardians needed me to help make sure the eggs got along safely. I wasn't going to let them down this time, but I was still afraid Pitch had a trick up his sleeve.

"I'm just going to make sure they get home safely. I won't be long, I promise."

"Take Baby-Tooth with you," said Tooth. The little fairy flew up to me and smiled.

After I saved her, Baby-Tooth became attached to me. I didn't mind having her join us, and neither did Alba. I guess this made up for skipping out on our late night meeting. She shook the snow globe and threw it, and it created a portal back inside the Bennett household. I took her free hand. "Let's go." With a single step, the portal had already pulled us into the house.

Alba tried putting Sophie to bed, but the slumbering toddler clung to her neck like a monkey. I tried helping her by pulling her arms off, but then she started to cling to me. By the time we got her in bed, Sophie sled over the side. Baby-Tooth squeaked in alarm.

"Sophie!" From the cry in the hall, Sophie's mom was on her way. Alba, Baby-Tooth, and I looked at each other, panicking. As a last result, I threw a blanket on Sophie as well as one of her stuffed animals. Baby-Tooth and I quickly went outside and waited for Sophie's mom to go away before joining Alba in her room.

"How did you get past your aunt?" I asked.

"I didn't. I just told her I went to check on Sophie when I heard a noise coming from her room."

"You know, you're an awesome cousin."

"Yeah, I know," she said with a smirk.

I joined her on her bed. "Alba, I'm sorry for not coming… I mean I did come, but not to see you…"

"Jack, it's okay. I'm over it. I understand that you had to help the Guardians." She began to play with Baby-Tooth, who seemed very comfy in her lap. "What exactly are you helping them with, anyway?"

I looked at my staff. "It's complicated. They want me to be a Guardian, but I'm not sure if I should be. But I don't want Pitch to…" I couldn't tell her any more. I only came here to make sure she and Sophie would be safe, but I couldn't tell her about Pitch. I didn't want her to worry about him coming for her since it was practically already morning. "… Like I said, it's complicated."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think you'd be a pretty awesome Guardian."

I smiled and took her hand. "Thanks." I looked outside. The sun was rising. "I should go. I promised I wouldn't take long. Come on, Baby-Tooth." The little fairy flew up and nuzzled Alba's cheek before joining my side. "I'll see you later, Alba."

"Bye, Jack." She got up from the bed and kissed my cheek. "I don't know what you'll be doing, but just be careful, okay?"

I touched my cheek. Her kisses always felt warm. "I will."

As soon as I left the Bennett house, I suddenly heard a voice.

_Jack!_

At first, I thought it was in my heard, but it sounded real. Someone was calling me.

_Jack!_

When I heard it again, I forgot about the Guardians and followed my instincts. Baby-Tooth flew in my face and stopped me. "It's okay, Baby-Tooth. This will only take a second." She shook her head vigorously. "Look, if it'll make you feel better, stay with Alba while I check this out. I promise I won't be long." She rolled her eyes in disbelief but she complied and went back to the house. I flew off when she was gone. I needed to know where that voice was coming from.

I was in the forest. There was a bare wooden bedpost covering a hole. _Jack…_ The dark abyss should've been the first sign of trouble, but when I heard the voice echoing from it, I didn't hesitate to break the wood away with my staff and jump in.

"_**Welcome, Jack…**_"

* * *

_**R&R!**_


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

As soon as Jack left, Alba fell back in her bed. She was _dead_-tired. After that little adventure in the Warren, chasing after her little cousin, and making colorful eggs for Easter with the Guardians, sleep had never sounded so heavenly.

Unfortunately, five seconds later, Jamie took away that privilege.

"The Tooth Fairy came!" he exclaimed. "She was here!"

"I know, Jamie," Alba mumbled into her pillow.

"And not just her! All the others showed up, too! Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Sandman…!" He continued to shake her as he rambled on about how all the Guardians came into his bedroom. Of course, there was no mention of Jack Frost. Alba now understood how the Guardians taking up the spotlight could be a pain, and right now it was _annoying _(at least it was only coming from Jamie. Remember, this was the cranky, sleepless Alba having these cynical thoughts).

"Jamie, that sounds great," she said, "and I'd love to hear the rest, but I'm so tired. I'm going to sleep in for the day."

"You're not going to do the hunt, too?"

"'Too'?"

"Yeah, Sophie's too tired. I wanted to wake her up, but Mom said I couldn't."

"Oh. Well, sorry, Jamie. I'd go if I wasn't so…" She stopped for a moment to yawn. "… tired. But I bet you'd have a lot more fun with your friends."

"Oh, okay." Alba didn't like hearing him sad, but she was too exhausted to do anything. "See you later, Alba."

"Have fun, Jamie."

Once he was gone, Alba flopped over on the bed as she tried to get comfortable. For some reason, the mattress only seemed to get more discomfiting each second. At one moment it was itchy, the next it was hot, and then all of a sudden it felt as if the whole bed was on fire.

"AH!"

Alba jumped out of bed and rolled on the floor like she was taught in elementary school. However, the fiery sensation she felt moments before disappeared. She looked at her arms. There wasn't a burn or even a scratch on her skin. She looked at the bed. It was perfectly fine, too. But everything else wasn't.

**-X-**

It was dark. Too dark to tell if she was still in the guestroom. Looking around, she saw no source of light anywhere. Where her bed had been, there was more darkness.

And then she heard the voices.

"Mommy!"

"Where are you!"

"It's too dark!"

They were everywhere. Even though she couldn't see a thing, it was as if the crying children were right in her ear. She pressed her hands against her ears in an attempt to make the voices less agonizing but the effort was fruitless. "Make it stop…"

"Mommy!"

"I'm scared!"

"Don't let the Boogeyman get me!"

She couldn't take it anymore. "MAKE IT STOP!"

"_**Oh, how precious…**_" Alba removed her hands. There was that nefarious voice, followed by a nefarious chortle. "**Mommy! Help me! Help me! Don't let the Boogeyman get me!**_** How innocent…**_" Alba felt angry. This person, whoever they were, was mocking the children. In fact, it sounded like he enjoyed listening to them cry out desperately for their mothers.

"You think this is funny?!" she cried out angrily.

He laughed again, making her shiver. It was as if the voice was right behind her. "It is sad, isn't it?"

Alba jumped. She expected this person to be behind her, but instead, she saw a cave. Not just any cave. It was the lair she had seen in her dream last night. There were many cages hanging from the ceiling and they were filled with fluttering, chirping green creatures that looked like hummingbirds. They must've been the Tooth Fairy's little fairies, like Baby-Tooth. They looked so frightened.

"Oh my…"

"There's nothing you can do to help them." Alba jumped again. The culprit behind this stood right in front of her.

It was a man. His black outfit fused with his gray skin. His hair seemed to stick out in the back, but she couldn't really tell. He had a nefarious smile which most likely matched the laugh she heard earlier.

"Who are you?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" Alba jumped away for the nth time that day. This guy was _everywhere!_ She couldn't take a step back without finding him creeping there. It was not only unexpected, but it was frightening, like if a monster popping out from under your bed.

"You're… the Boogeyman."

"Yes, that's what most of those little ankle-biters call me, isn't it? But you, my dear, are too old to be referring me to those childish pseudonyms." All of sudden, the Boogeyman was in front of her, taking her hand and giving it a light peck. "My name is Pitch Black, but you may call me Pitch."

Alba quickly took her hand away. "What do you want with me? What are you doing with them?" She pointed up at the cages harboring the fairies.

"Oh now, don't fret. You don't need to worry about them. Not when you're in a rut of your own."

Alba backed away from him. She had no idea what he was planning to do with her, but it was probably far worse than putting her in a cage. "What are you going to do? Show me my greatest fears?"

Pitch began to laugh again, which effortlessly made her shiver. It was as if he knew a dark secret of hers. "You know I shouldn't have to show you your fears, my dear. After all, you're the golden child the Guardians swoon over. Alba Bennett, the only child in history who's never had a nightmare, besides MiM himself." Pitch seemed angry at the mention of this "MiM". "I swear, old friend, one day I will get you." His scowl was now directed towards her. "And I would have gotten to him if it wasn't for…!" He stopped and took a deep, calming breath. "But I'll save that surprise for later, my dear."

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about. Just show me my greatest fears then take me back home!"

"I told you, my dear, I don't need to show you your greatest fears. You and I both know that you're already living them."

The scene changed. Everything was dark except for a section of light that showed a scene that was very familiar. It was her old middle school. She saw herself sitting in a classroom reading a book about the legend of Santa. Obviously, the book wasn't very factual, but her fascination about the Guardians had increased so much back then she had to read as much as she could.

"What is this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Pitch said next to her. "We're in your mind. This is a memory. My nightmares appear to you much like the dreams Sandy sends to you every night, and sometimes they reside in the recesses of your mind, like a forgotten memory. Luckily for me, I didn't have to fabricate any of this."

Alba watched her younger self read as a group of girls who age came up to her desk. She remembered that day perfectly. Right about now, the girls were teasing her about how she still believed in Santa Claus, calling her names and making her feel miserable. She saw the tears brimming at the corners of her eyes, feeling her own eyes water as she watched that terrible memory.

"You grew up alone with no friends, beside your little cousins, their friends, and then later on that foolish Jack Frost." The scene changed to the scene a day ago at the snowball fight and then in the forest where she and Jack were talking. "It's sad, isn't it? Your only true companions are a bunch of elementary school children and a mystical being that is invisible to the rest of the world. Kind of like an imaginary friend." Pitch chuckled. Now he was laughing at _her_ misery.

Alba couldn't help hugging her arms subconsciously. It was true; she had never gotten along with kids her own age and she still didn't have any besides her cousins and Jack. An outside viewer would probably agree with Pitch and laugh at her pathetic social life, but she didn't care. At least she still had people who cared about her…

Yet that notion didn't make her feel any better. She was still alone, and that was her greatest fear. Being put in a cage probably felt better than this.

"Oh dear." Pitch brush a stray tear that Alba was trying to hold back off her cheek. "There's no need for that. It will all be over very soon."

Alba wiped her eyes. "Wh-What do you mean?"

Pitch merely smirked. "_**You will not foil my plans again, my dear…**_"

"What?"

Alba had no time to react when she was suddenly pulled into a swirling vortex. She was now hanging above a moving mass of mystical creatures that closely resembled horses. They were snarling, the more vicious behavior than any horse she'd ever seen. They looked ravenous, with their golden eyes and sharp teeth. It was like she was hanging over a tank full of sharks.

"_**Fair well, Wynter!**_"

There was that name again. She had no idea who this "Wynter" was, but Alba knew that Pitch was talking to her. "NO!" She struggled. She didn't know what was holding over these beats, but she had to get out. She had to wake up…

"Wake up…" It didn't even occur to her that this was all a figment of Pitch's cruel imagination. They were still in _her_ mind, though. All she had to do was—

"Wake up!" But that was easier said than done. As much as she thought about it, she couldn't break away from this dream. It was too real. "Wake up, Alba! Wake up!"

"_**It's no use, my dear! Nothing can help you now!**_"

But then Alba went to a last result. She screamed. She shrieked to high heaven, disrupting the nightmares beneath her.

"_**Stop that, you wretched child!**_"

Alba couldn't hear anything over her own cry. Pitch's lair began to quake and Alba was immediately released. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain and darkness to take over.

**-X-**

The distraught girl woke up in a cold sweat. Her whole body was shaking. She put her arms around herself as if to stop the shaking but it just wouldn't do. Baby-Tooth flew in front of her, very concerned about her new friend. Alba suddenly felt a pinch on her cheek. There was a little welt, most likely from Baby-Tooth's pointy nose.

"You woke me up?" The little fairy nodded vigorously. Alba carefully took the fairy and held her to her chest. "Thank you." A tear fell on top of the fairy's head. Alba realized that she was still crying. She quickly wiped her eyes and Baby-Tooth touched her cheek. "I'm okay, Baby-Tooth. I just had a bad dream. This guy Pitch decided to visit my dreams." The fairy flew back alertly. "I'm guessing you've heard of him."

"Alba!" Hearing her Aunt Carol coming from down the hall, Alba quickly hid Baby-Tooth under her pillow. "Alba, I heard screaming. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. It was just a bad dream," she said. "But I'm fine now. I think I'm going to join Jamie outside now."

Aunt Carol looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"I'm really okay, Aunt Carol. I'll take Sophie, too, if she's awake yet."

"No, she's still in bed. She's never slept this long before. I wonder what she was doing last night." Alba smiled uneasily as her aunt left the room.

Baby-Tooth found her way from under the pillow when she knew the woman was gone. "Sorry about that," Alba apologized. "But I'm sure you're used to going under pillows, right?" Baby-Tooth nodded. Being stuffed under a pillow wasn't a big deal. They were soft and light, which made it very easy for her and her comrades to slip under, so of course she didn't mind.

Suddenly, Alba remembered Baby-Tooth was with Jack before she fell asleep. Where was he? "Baby-Tooth, why aren't you with Jack?"

Baby-Tooth was suddenly in a panic. She began chirruping vigorously and pointing out the window. "Is he in trouble?" Baby-Tooth nodded and flew towards the window impatiently. Alba didn't know what to think. Fortunately, Jack had left the magical snow globe, so she would be able to find him easily. She quickly got dressed, took the snow globe, and ran out of the house as fast as she could.

When she was outside, she found Jamie sitting on the porch looking really down. Baby-Tooth poked her, reminding her of their time limit. Alba pushed her away gently. She knew she was wasting time, but her family came first. "Jamie, are you okay?"

He shook his head. "We didn't find any eggs."

"None?" That was unusual. She clearly remembered herself, Sophie, and the Guardians coloring the Easter eggs last night. She even saw them going through the tunnels so they could hide in places children could find them. How didn't they find any? "Well… there's always next year, Jamie."

"Yeah, I know… I told my friends about what happened last night. They didn't believe me."

Alba sat down next to her cousin and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Jamie. I believe you."

"No, Alba. I mean, they _don't_ believe. They don't believe in Santa or the Tooth Fairy or even the East Bunny anymore. They've been like that since they've been having nightmares."

Alba cringed. "Have you been having nightmares?"

"No. I don't know what's going on, Alba. Why aren't there any eggs? Why are my friends having nightmares? I'm worried."

Alba clenched her hands on her knees. She wished she could tell Jamie about what happened last night, and she wished she could tell him why these terrible things were happening to his friends, but she didn't even know what the Guardians were up. She had a feeling it had something to do with Pitch but it still wasn't enough. Not to mention Jack was missing. If she could find him then he'd be able to give her some answers.

"Just because your friends don't believe anymore doesn't mean you shouldn't, either," she said. "You have a good heart, Jamie. Don't ever stop believing." Alba ruffled his hair, making him smile. "It'll be okay. I have to go now. Tell Aunt Carol I'll be back in a bit." After saying goodbye to her cousin, Alba ran to the park.

Like Jamie had said, there were no eggs. Easter baskets that were most likely thrown on the ground were lying all around the park. It was a sad sight. Kids shouldn't have to feel so helpless on a holiday like Easter, Alba thought dejectedly. They needed the Guardians. What were they doing? And where was Jack?

Strangely enough, one of the baskets was shaking. Alba curiously went over and picked it up. Inside was her blue egg friend. Even though it didn't have a face, she could tell it was scared out of its mind. "It's okay, little guy," she said gently as she took it out of the basket. "It's okay." Recognizing his friend's touch, the egg stopped shaking and rubbed against her hand. "Why were you hiding? What happened to your friends?"

The egg gestured towards the ground, indicating it wanted to be put down. Alba set on the ground, allowing it to show her what happened. It was leaning towards the bushes. Baby-Tooth flew into the bushes and slowly came out looking as sad as the egg appeared. She held out the object to Alba, who took it slowly. It was soft and colorful. Alba gasped, realizing it was a piece of an eggshell. She went through the bushes and found the remaining pieces. "Oh no…" No wonder the children couldn't find the eggs. Someone had shattered them all, but who would do such a terrible thing?

"Pitch… Baby-Tooth, we have to find Jack fast!" Baby-Tooth back down to the egg, who was too helpless to even move on its own. "I don't know if we should take him with us. He's just an egg and I wouldn't know where to put him. But I can't leave him here, either." Baby-Tooth pulled on her scarf. Alba smiled at her idea. Where would Jack be if Baby-Tooth was still with him?

Alba took the Easter egg carefully and wrapped her scarf around it before putting it in her coat pocket. "There you go, E.E. You'll be warm and safe in there. Now let's go find Jack."

Alba took the snow globe out of her other pocket. She thought about Jack, where he could possibly be, if he was okay, before she threw it. The portal opened up, revealing a lot of white. Alba jumped into the portal, landing in a pile of snow.

When she got up, she saw nothing but snow. Either she was in the arctic, or Jack went all out on this snow day thing. "Where could he be?" Alba sifted through the snow until she found the snow globe and began her search.

Fortunately, it wasn't snowing. The only problem was the freezing cold. Baby-Tooth was shivering too much, but despite how cold she was, she was able to move fast. She flew ahead of Alba, who was having trouble walking through the snow as it was. Baby-Tooth came back, pointing over the hill they were climbing. "Did you find him?" She nodded before leading her over.

Alba began to run as fast as she could. A blast of wind blew her back slightly, but she was able to regain her ground and continued on. When she reached the top, she saw Jack, but in front of him stood Pitch. She had a feeling she probably shouldn't get in the middle of whatever was happening, but seeing her friend in terrible danger, Alba couldn't control her feelings.

"_Jack!_"

Jack and Pitch Black looked over, Jack's face filled with dread while Pitch's was suddenly come over with promiscuity. "Alba? Baby-Tooth? What—how—"

"Glad you could finally join us, dear," said Pitch.

Jack used his staff to blast some ice at him. "Alba, get out of here!" But before she could move a muscle, Alba found herself trapped in the arms of Pitch Black. "Let her go, Pitch!"

Alba would've screamed out, but she was too paralyzed with fear to say anything. This was the same Pitch that created the terror she endured not so long ago. "Jack…"

Pitch smirked. "The staff first, Jack."

"Jack, don't…!"

"Quiet, you!"

Jack hesitated. Give up his power or give up his best friend? It wasn't a hard choice. Alba could see it in his eyes.

With his head low in defeat, Jack handed over his magic staff while Pitch kept a good grip on Alba as he took it away. "Okay, you have my staff," Jack said. "Now let Alba go."

Pitch marveled the wooden staff, watching as its magical properties dissipate. "… No."

"Pitch!"

In a tiny flash, Baby-Tooth came out and stabbed Pitch's hand with her nose. "Ow! Why you little…!" He backhanded Baby-Tooth, and in her small form she flew back harshly. Jack quickly caught her before she could hit the snow. "You want your little girlfriend, Jack?" Pitch said. He shoved Alba at Jack. "You can have her! And you can both freeze out here together!"

Alba felt a stab of pain in her chest before she saw nothing but black.

* * *

**_R&R!_**


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Life was officially unfair.

When I was so close to finding out who I was—so freaking close!—something always got in my way. It was like the Moon was trying to prevent me from finding myself. If I didn't know who I was, how did he expect me to be a Guardian? I needed some kind of closure.

The last person I expected to lead me to it was Pitch.

He wasn't lenient about it. He taunted and teased and led me on until he finally handed over the decorative, cylinder container filled holding my old baby teeth, my precious memories. Then I realized he was only leading me to distract from what was really important: Easter.

I found myself back in the tunnels of Bunnymund's Warren. Behind me were thousands of shattered eggshells, the eggs the Guardians, Alba, Sophie, and I decorated before they were sent out. This was their doorway to the outside world. They didn't even make it. I could only imagine how the other eggs were, and the Guardians…

"Oh no…" I said I would come back, but I forgot about everything when Pitch gave me my teeth. What had I done?

I found them outside where an Easter egg hunt was just ending. All the kids had given up, not able to find a single egg. I saw Bunnymund crouching down in shock and sadness. The kids had stopped believing him. He was invisible, just like me. I had never felt so sorry for the guy, and seeing him like this only made me feel worse.

"Jack!" North and Tooth Fairy approached me. "Where were you? Pitch's nightmares came and we were outnumbered!"

"And where's Baby-Tooth?" Tooth asked frantically.

I completely forgot about the mini fairy. Thankfully she was still with Alba… I hoped.

"Jack," Tooth flew up to me skeptically. "Where did you get that?"

I forgot I was still holding my teeth. I didn't know how to explain myself. I was still overwhelmed by the disaster. "I was… Pitch came and—"

"You were with Pitch?" North inquired.

"I'm sorry! I mean for this to happen! I was just—"

"We should have never had trusted you!" Bunnymund yelled at me. I took it this time. I deserved everything he threw at me. "Easter… Easter is hope. It's new life. Without Easter, the children have nothing to look forward to."

After that, Bunnymund left. The other two slowly began to follow him, but not before they gave me disappointed looks. I didn't see how I could make things worse, so I secluded myself to the last place on the planet that was actually fit for me.

Antarctica was nice this time of year. Even though it snowed 24/7 and it was as cold as the dickens, I enjoyed it. This place was perfect for someone like me: cold, frosty, and most importantly, isolated from all the people I could possibly hurt. No one would notice I was gone, and I doubted they would even care. The Guardians already knew they couldn't rely on me anymore. I had ruined Easter. Now there was no hope. Pitch had already won. And it was all my fault.

MiM was wrong; I was never meant to be a Guardian.

I stared at the container that held my precious memories. It was partially at fault for all the trouble. I was tempted to throw it away. Even if it did hold my memories, it would only bring me new, terrible ones. I ran towards a cliff, ready to throw my memories over the edge. But then I hesitated. I tried again. My hands held it tight. I couldn't do it. As much as I wanted to get rid of them, I just couldn't. They still meant something to me and as much as I wanted to deny it, I still wanted to find out who I was before I became a part of all of this chaos.

"We really need to stop running into each other like this."

I held out my staff when I saw Pitch. "You!" I swung at him and he easily dodged it. "This is all _your_ fault!" I took a few shots at him, which he also dodged until finally, in a spout of anger, I blasted my full ability at him just as he threw his black sand. The reaction caused a giant spike of ice and black sand.

"_My_ fault!" Pitch cried. "I wasn't the one who abandoned my friends! And I know what it's like to be ignored too, Jack! You're not the only to be cast in the shadows of the Guardians. To be invisible." I stood slightly erect. Pitch actually looked… sad. Genuinely sad. I almost pitied the guy. Almost. "But that can all change. We can rule the world, rule over the children, together."

"No way."

"Jack, you know as well as I that the Guardians don't want anything to do with either of us. We could make an exceptional team. I mean look at what we created." I looked at the terrifying structure of ice and darkness. It looked impressive, but it was also intimidating in a way. "What goes together better than cold and black? Together, we can rule over the children and make the world—!"

"Pitch Black?"

"… And Jack Frost, too. Children will finally love us."

"You mean children will fear us, and that's _not_ what I want."

As I turned to leave, Pitch made another offer. "How about an exchange? Your staff for information on your long lost Wynter."

I stopped, actually willing to reconsider his offer. He knew my weakness. I'd give anything to find out what happened to Wynter, to find where she was, if she was even alive… "What do you know about Wynter?"

Pitch snorted. "All of the magical beings know of Wynter, Jack. She was a wonder, wasn't she?"

"Was?"

"Ah, yes. It was a terrible tragedy, but something had to be done about her."

I became uneasy and suddenly engulfed with rage. I pointed my staff at him again. "What did you do?" I growled.

"Why don't you ask your friend, Alba?"

"_What did you do?!_"

"Jack!"

My heart stopped.

_No. It couldn't be._

But unfortunately it was.

"Alba? Baby-Tooth? What—how…?" My friends were standing mere feet away from us. They weren't supposed to be here. And as much as I missed the sound of Alba's voice, this was just the wrong time. But according to the smirk on Pitch's face, this was what he had planned.

"Glad you could finally join us, dear."

"Alba, get out of here!" Before I could do a thing, Pitch had disappeared and reappeared behind Alba, holding her captive. "Let her go, Pitch!"

Just as I was about to give him another taste of my wrath, Pitch's grip on Alba tightened and she writhed in pain. From the look on her face, she had already had an encounter with the king of nightmares. I had never seen her so frightened before. I was afraid this would happen. I had failed to be there for my best friend just as I had failed to be there for the Guardians. Now Alba was in danger again and I didn't know what to do. "Jack…"

Pitch's smirk grew. "The staff first, Jack."

"Jack no…!" Alba cried.

"Quiet, you!"

I looked at the source of my power. My wooden staff had been a part of me ever since I became Jack Frost. The thought of separating from it was unfathomable and I had no idea what would happen once I did part from it. There was no telling what Pitch would do with it once I handed it over, either.

I hesitated, but then I saw the fearful glint in Alba's eyes. Even though she was scared out of her mind, Alba didn't want me to submit to Pitch. But I would not allow her to suffer even at the expense of my powers, not again. Without another thought, I handed my staff over to Pitch, who began inspecting it with interest. "Okay, you have my staff. Now let Alba go."

"… No."

"Pitch!"

All of a sudden, Baby-Tooth flew out and bit Pitch's hand (or did she use her nose?). "Ow! Why you little…!" Pitch hit Baby-Tooth, and the poor thing went flying. I caught before she hit the ground.

"You okay, Baby-Tooth?" She nodded. She was shivering feverishly.

"You want your little girlfriend, Jack?" Pitch sneered. He harshly shoved Alba over to me and I caught her as well. "You can have her! And you both can freeze out here together!" Before I could react, Pitch blasted us with his black sand. I quickly turned over so Alba would land on me. I heard a crack and shortly after, the two broken pieces of my staff joined us.

"Is everyone alright?" Baby-Tooth, who had hidden in my hoody before Pitch blasted us down here, nodded in that cute little way she did. Alba didn't respond. "Alba, you okay?" When I lifted her up, I gasped at the traces of black sand on her coat. Pitch had hit her. Now Alba lain unconscious in my arms. "Oh no…"

There were so many terrible things I wanted to do to Pitch at the moment. Taking my staff and destroying my one source of power was one thing, but hurting someone as innocent as Alba, my best friend, was taking it a step too far.

But as I thought of all the terrible things I wanted to do to Pitch, I couldn't help thinking of all the things that I couldn't do for Alba. She was out cold (no pun intended) and being in Antarctica was not helping her. I patted her cheek. "Alba! Alba, wake up!" She groaned but she didn't stir a bit. "Alba, please…" I held her closer to me, putting my head into the crook of her neck. I could feel her pulse. At least she was still alive. She needed something to warm her up, but all I could do was keep her cold. "I'm so sorry, Alba."

Baby-Tooth took refuge in my hoody pouch. She sneezed. "I'm sorry I can't warm you up, either, Baby-Tooth. I've never felt so helpless before." Baby-Tooth dug deeper into the pouch. "Hey! Cut it out!" I said with a laugh. She came back out with the container filled with my teeth. I took it from her and stared at it.

My picture was on both sides of the cylinder. The boy looked like me, except he had brown hair instead of white and hazel eyes instead of blue. What happened to me?

I stopped thinking for a moment to set Alba down briefly. I took off my hoody and wrapped into a cushion so I could lay Alba's head on it. I still had my old shirt on (not that it mattered) and Wynter's little token glinted off my neck once it was in the light. "There, Alba. I'm sure that's comfortable for you." I laid back against the cold wall and thought for a moment. "I don't know what to do, Alba. Everything's all messed up because of me. I know if you were awake you'd probably say something like 'It's not your fault, Jack' just to make me feel better."

I almost laughed. That did sound like something she would say. She should've been awake to say it so I wouldn't look crazy. In fact, this whole moment would've been easier if she were awake. Alba always knew the right thing to say to me. That was why I lov—liked her so much. She was always there for me, and now that I needed her, she couldn't be here. "What do I do?"

Baby-Tooth tapped my memory container. She wanted me to open it. I hesitantly touched the flat surface, unlocking the archive that would lead me to the truth. When the case opened, I felt myself being pulled into the memories.

**-X-**

I saw myself playing, joking around, pulling pranks. I was so happy. I also had the same brown hair and hazel eyes I saw on the cylinder. There were other kids with me. They were younger, like Jamie and Sophie and their friends. They were laughing, too.

"_You're so silly Jack!"_

I smiled. The scene looked familiar for some reason, yet I couldn't put my finger on it.

Then I saw myself with a little girl. She looked about Jamie's age. She was tugging on my arm. A woman approached me. I assumed she was my mother. The little girl was my sister.

"_Be careful,"_ the woman said to me.

"_Don't worry. We will be."_

But then we were on the ice. The little girl was in her skates, the ice under her cracking. I was barefoot, treading lightly as I tried to get to my sister.

"_Jack…"_ She was so scared. The look on her face reminded me of Alba, when Pitch was holding her hostage. The fear in her eyes was just as painful to watch.

"_It's alright. We're gonna have a little fun…"_ I watched myself hopping on the ice like it was a game of hopscotch. I was able to reach the stick of wood, which looked a lot like my staff. The little girl followed my lead, the ice crackling with each cautious step, until I was finally able to grab her with the hook of the staff and swept her away from the cracks.

And then I fell.

"_JACK!"_

I was gone. My skin turned cold, my hair turned frosty, and my eyes, now crystalline blue, opened up as I arose from my slumber. From that moment, Jack Frost was born.

**-X-**

I gasped as I awoke from my stupor. I remembered everything after that moment. My discovering my powers to my meeting with Wynter, one of the greatest things to ever happen.

I looked back at the case holding my memories. I remembered everything now. I knew who I was! "Baby-Tooth, did you see that?" The little fairy shook her head, but I continued ranting excitingly, anyway. "I had a family! I had a sister! I saved her! I…" It was then I realized why MiM had chosen me. Saving my sister, bringing joy to children—that was my purpose. That was why I had become Jack Frost.

But looking at Alba, I realized that I still didn't have all the answers I wanted. Seeing myself with all those kids, pulling pranks and just having a good time, it all reminded me of Alba. She did the same thing with her cousins and their friends. Did that not make her any more of a Guardian?

Suddenly, my argument with Pitch came back to me. What he'd done to Wynter—he said it was related to Alba. But how?

For years, I had convinced myself to believe that Wynter and Alba weren't related in any way. They were both equally important to me, and I didn't want to think that I only liked one because of the other. And I still didn't know what exactly Pitch had done to Wynter.

"Do you think Pitch is trying to trick me again, Baby-Tooth?" She just shrugged. "Pitch is a no good, lying… but I'm desperate.

"You probably already know about Wynter, right?" She nodded almost happily. "Yeah, she was the best. I know I didn't know her as long as the other Guardians did, but when I was having fun with her, it felt like we'd known each other for centuries. When I lost her, I didn't know what to do.

"Then I met Alba. I couldn't help thinking how similar those two were. You see it, right?" Baby-Tooth nodded again. "Yeah, so do the Guardians. That's why they love Alba so much; she's too much like Wynter. But they're also different. Even though I felt like I knew Wynter forever, the truth is I don't know her at all. I guess I thought I did because we had a lot in common." I fingered Wynter's token subconsciously. "I've been hearing about all this stuff from the Guardians—I didn't even know she knew the Guardians!"

I laughed. "Man, am I getting tired of this! I've compared them so many times, trying so hard to find that one thing that made Alba different, but I just can't. What I do know is that Alba… she's special. I've never felt this way towards anyone before, not even Wynter. She'll always be my first friend… but Alba will always be my first love. My one and only love. And I'm not going to lose her." Baby-Tooth sighed like girls usually do when they hear something sweet and corny. And man, did I sound corny. "You have to promise not to tell anyone, Baby-Tooth, not even Alba. I'm not sure I'm ready to tell her, and I'm afraid of what she'd say if I told her."

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Baby-Tooth and I quickly turned when we heard the voice. Alba was awake and smiling as if she hadn't just been attacked by Pitch. And she had heard _everything_.

"Alba, you're awake!" I went by her side as she tried to get up. "Whoa, slow down, Alba. Pitch hit you hard."

"I'll be fine," she said. She hissed a little in pain and held her stomach.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's just a bruise." She gave me a reassuring smile. "So, did you really mean everything you said?"

Despite how cold I was, I was pretty sure I was blushing. "Um… you weren't supposed to hear any of that."

"You didn't answer my question." I turned away bashfully. "Jack, why didn't you tell me about your Wynter friend?"

"Because I was afraid you would think I only liked you because you remind me of her! …You know I don't think that way, right?"

All of a sudden, Alba pulled my shirt and brushed her soft lips against mine. I was so cold, I didn't think my face could heat up so fast. This was my first kiss. And it was _fantastic!_

When Alba broke our kiss, she hugged me. "Jack, Wynter was obviously an important person to you. Sure, if you told me about her earlier, I probably would've been irritated. But after hearing what you said, I don't see why I should be."

I smiled and hugged her closer. "And that's why I love you."

I leaned in for another warm kiss but I felt nothing but air. "Um, Jack. We still have to get out of here. Pitch, remember?"

I backed away quickly. "R-Right." I saw the broken pieces of my staff. I went over and grabbed them. I put them together, but they slipped apart. I silently cursed. "Come on…" I tried again, pouring all my strength and power into fixing my staff so we could get out of here. Once the wood fused back together, I felt the energy I put into my staff flow back into me. I was back!

I quickly put my hoody back on before carefully picking up Alba with my newly found strength. Baby-Tooth flew back into my hoody pouch. "Hang on!"

We went to Pitch's lair first. He didn't seem to be around. The cages filled with Baby-Tooth's fairy companions were still there, and I took this opportunity to free them. I set Alba down before flying up and opening one of the cages. "Come on! You're free!" None of them moved an inch. They were all perched. "You can't fly?" Baby-Tooth poked out my pouch and tried flying over to her companions, but she was too weak and she immediately fell. I quickly caught her. "Oh no…"

"Jack!"

I flew back down next to Alba, who was holding her side. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded curtly. "Look at this."

I saw a spherical metal statue. I remembered seeing this the last time I was here. It was a globe of the earth, and the lights on it were all the children who believed in the Guardians. And they were fading quickly.

"What should we do?" Alba asked.

"What can we do? Pitch practically has the whole world in the palm of his hand. Look, there's only five left." We watched intensely as the last lights slowly faded away.

"Now there's only four," Alba said.

"Three."

"Two."

"One…"

As we waited for the last light to fade, time seemed to slow down. After about 30 seconds, we realized the last light wasn't going anywhere.

"There's still hope!" Alba exclaimed.

"But where's it coming from?"

The light was in the US. It was towards the north, in Michigan. And it was glowing especially close to Burgess…

Alba and I looked at each other in fear.

"Jamie!"


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

"Are you sure you're okay, Alba?"

"Yes, Jack. I'm fine. Just concentrate on getting to Jamie's house."

Alba tried to hide her annoyance when she answered Jack. She knew he was just worried about her after what Pitch did to her, but after being asked twenty times, it was really starting to get on her nerves. But even though she denied she wasn't in any pain, Alba felt occasional twinges in her stomach whenever she moved…

Okay, so she really wasn't fine, but she couldn't have Jack worry over her when the fate of the world was at stake. All the children were already taken over by fear, except for her cousin Jamie. They had to get to him before it was too late, and pining over a miniscule bruise would only encumber them, at least more than it already had. But with the way Jack was worrying, she was starting to rethink coming instead of staying in Pitch's lair with Baby-Tooth and her friends.

Once they were at Jamie's, Jack set her down so she could get inside. As soon as she opened the door, she knew someone would notice. "Alba, is that you?"

"Yeah, Aunt Carol!" As she went up the stairs, the twinge in her stomach got worse and Alba stumbled.

"Alba, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah! I accidentally…" She bit her tongue feeling the uncomfortable wrench pulling at her stomach. "… tripped. I'm okay!"

"Okay. Try to be more quiet. Sophie's asleep."

Alba didn't bother to reply as she tried to get to the top of the stairs. Finally, after the painful struggle, she sat down to examine her injury. She nearly gasped at the deep purple and blue splotch on her belly. It was practically black and throbbing painfully.

"Okay, look. You and I are obviously are what they call 'at crossroads'…" Alba pulled her shirt back down when she heard Jamie and silently approached his room. She peeked through the door and saw him talking to an old stuffed rabbit. He used to play with it before he claimed he was "too old" for stuffed animals. Seeing him talk to it now was a curious sight. "I believed in you for a long time, okay? Like, my whole life in fact, so you kinda owe me now. You don't have to do much. Just a little sign so I know. Anything. Anything at all…"

Alba frowned. They had to keep Jamie believing somehow. When she saw Jack in the window and looked into his eyes, she knew he thought the same.

But now it seemed they were too late. When Jamie didn't get the response he wanted, the light in his eyes was gone. "I knew it." He dropped the stuffed rabbit onto the floor, a desolate sign that his faith was now lost.

Alba was about to go in and talk to him when she saw Jack signaling from the window. He had a plan. Alba stayed back to see what he had in mind.

She watched as he blew against the window, creating a frost shield. The temperature in Jamie's room suddenly got so cold Jamie began to notice. He watched his window in amusement as a picture of an egg was being drawn. On top of them, Jack drew a rabbit. All of a sudden, the poorly drawn rabbit came to life as a realistic rabbit made of ice that even surprised Alba. Jack came in through the open window as the rabbit jumped around Jamie's room, causing the little boy to laugh and jump around with it. Jack looked over at Alba and winked. He ended the spectacle with a grand finale; the rabbit jumped up and burst into a delicate snowfall.

"Whoa…" Jamie stared at the snowflakes, realization dawning on his face. "Jack Frost…"

Jack looked up in shock. He glanced at Alba briefly seeing as she was the only other witness that heard him. "D-Did he just say…"

Jamie looked around the room. "Jack Frost?"

Jack gasped out. "He said it again! He said—_you_ said…"

Jamie turned around and gawked when he saw Jack. "Jack Frost…"

Now Jack was gawking. "That's right! B-But that's me! Jack Frost—that's _my_ name! You said my name!" Jamie was still frozen in shock, his mouth wide agape like a fish. "Wait. C-Can you hear me?"

Jamie nodded numbly.

"C-Can you… Can you _see _me?"

He nodded again.

Jack laughed. "He sees me… He sees me!" Jack jumped onto Jamie's dresser in excitement.

Jamie finally broke out of his stupor and smiled. "You just made it snow!"

"I know!"

"In my room!"

"I know!"

"You're real?"

"Yeah! I mean, who do you think brings you all the blizzards and snow days! And you remember when you went flying on that sled the other day?"

"That was you?"

"That was me!" Jack jumped off the dresser excitedly and looked over at Alba again, who was standing in the doorframe with an eager smile on her face. "Jamie believes in me, Alba!"

"I know!"

Jamie turned when he saw his older cousin. "Alba, Jack Frost is real!"

"I know!"

"The Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny are real!"

"I know!"

Without a second thought, Alba ran over to the boys and hugged them, and they all fell over on Jamie's bed and laughed. Alba tried not to wince when she landed on her stomach, and she was glad Jamie was having too much fun to notice she was in pain. "This is great!" Jamie cried. "I knew it wasn't just a dream. You and the Guardians are real!"

"Jamie! Alba!" his mom called. "Who are you talking to?"

Jamie looked at Alba and Jack. They smiled at him. "… Jack Frost?"

They heard a laugh. "Okay..."

They couldn't help laughing themselves. "This is _awesome!_" He looked at Alba again. "And you knew this whole time?"

"Well, yeah," she said coyly. "I told you."

Suddenly, Jamie's windows flew open and the sky flashed. A familiar sled flew out of nowhere. Jack looked at Alba. "I'll meet you two outside." He flew out. Jamie's smile faded when he noticed the solemn look on Alba's face. "What's going on?"

"You'll see in a little bit, Jamie," Alba said. "Come on!" Taking her young cousin's hand, Alba quietly led him down the stairs and out the door.

Once they were outside, they saw a reindeer-drawn sleigh land right in front of the house. Alba and Jamie stopped right beside Jack and gawked. This was the fascinating piece of machinery that Santa used every year to deliver their gifts? It was like something out of science-fiction.

Suddenly, the sleigh broke down and the reindeer ran loose. "Come back!" Santa cried before shouting several other outbursts that were in Russian.

"Jack!" Tooth Fairy flew out of the sleigh, but she was struggling. She finally fell to the ground, her wings flapping feebly.

Jack helped her up. "You okay?" She nodded shyly.

"What are you doing here?" Santa asked. He was leaning over his sword like a cane.

"Same as you." Alba and Jamie came forward.

The two Guardians looked at them in wonder. "The last two lights…"

"'Last two'?" Alba repeated. She and Jack exchanged curious glances. "But, on Pitch's globe, there was only—"

"Wow! It is you! I mean it _is_ you!" Jamie ran up to Santa and Tooth Fairy. "I knew it wasn't a dream!"

The Guardians looked up at the silver-haired boy. "Jack, he sees you."

Jack smiled but it quickly disappeared when he realized someone was missing. "Wait, where's Bunny?"

"Losing Easter took its toll on all of us, Bunny most of all."

Suddenly, an adorable little rabbit hopped out of the sleigh. It had the same shade of blue-gray fur and the same markings as the Easter Bunny, but Alba couldn't help swooning over him. He was just so cute!

"Bunny?" Jack said. "Oh no…"

"That's the Easter Bunny?" Jamie said in disbelief.

The bunny frowned. "_Now_ somebody sees me! Where were you about an hour ago, mate!"

"What happened to him? He used to be huge and cool, and now he's… cute." Jamie began scratching Bunny behind his ears, which made the little rabbit thump his foot in pleasure.

Bunny quickly pawed him away and glared at Jack. "Did you tell him to say that? That's it! Let's go! Me and you! Come on!" He hopped over to Jack and began kicking at his legs, which was ineffective. Alba couldn't help laughing at the sight, but she quickly stifled herself when the adorable little bunny shot a glare at her.

"No. Actually, he told me you were real," Jamie confessed, "just when I was starting to think that maybe you weren't."

Bunnymund looked astonished, almost like he was about to cry. "He made you believe… in me?" The little rabbit looked at Jack and gave him the most irresistibly adorable smile Alba ever saw.

The nice moment was abruptly ruined by the thunderous clatter in the sky. Pitch was on a cloud just above them with a menacing look that gave Alba the chills. "Oh no…"

"Get Jamie out of here," Jack said. The Guardians nodded and began to lead Jamie away.

Alba grabbed Jack's sleeve before he could get away. "Jack, what are you doing? You can't face Pitch alone. He's too…" She winced and let go of his sleeve to hold her stomach. "… powerful."

"And you're not much help injured," he retorted. "Alba, listen to me. You need to stay here."

"I'm not going to stand at the sidelines while you go off and fight the Boogeyman!"

"And I'm not going to let you get hurt again!" Jack immediately pulled her into a hug. "Please, Alba. I want to keep you safe, and I can't do it if you keep putting yourself in harm's way. Let me protect you, like I failed to do before."

Alba stayed in Jack's embrace, not really sure how to respond. There was something about what Jack said that hit her harder than she thought it would. No, she didn't believe Jack had failed her. She didn't think he failed anyone. In fact, she felt it was more like the other way around. _She_ had failed _him_. But why did she feel that way? "Jack, I…"

"Well isn't this sweet?" Jack released Alba and pushed her behind him when he noticed Pitch standing a few feet away. His army of nightmares stood behind him restlessly. "You know, this reminds me of Romeo and Juliet. How about we skip to the part when the lovely couple dies, shall we?" With a whip of black sand, Pitch was able to latch onto Jack's leg and throw him in the air.

"Jack!" Alba saw something fall on the ground as soon as Jack was pulled away. It was round and ashen, like a pearl. She picked it up quickly and inspected it. It did look like a pearl, but it felt too delicate. It was also attached to a thick chain.

"Oh, don't think I forgot about you, my dear," she heard Pitch say. She quickly put the pearl in her pocket before turning back to Pitch. He whistled, signaling three of his nightmares to come forward. "Now I'm going to finish you off once and for all…"

Suddenly, a blast of frost hit Pitch, gluing him to the concrete. Jack came back down with a fierce look of anger and determination on his face. "Alba, run!"

She was hesitant to do anything now that she saw that Jack was okay, but she couldn't say no to him. She needed to get out of here and help Jamie. However, her injury said otherwise. Instead, she went back inside her cousins' house.

As soon as she closed the door, she leaned against it and slid down to the floor. She put a hand on her stomach. It still hurt like hell, but she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't do anything at all, and she hated it. She didn't have any powers that could help the Guardians defend against Pitch or save Jamie. Jack was right to tell her to stay out of the way.

Her thoughts were disrupted by a thumping in her coat pocket. She pulled out her scarf and unraveled it until she found her little egg friend. She was surprised how intact it was after everything she'd gone through these past couple hours. "Sorry I kept you in there so long, E.E. I'm glad you're still in one piece." It rubbed itself against her hand affectionately.

Alba reached into her other pocket and got out the pearl that came off of Jack. It had to be important to him if he had to hide so well. It probably had something to do with that Wynter girl he was talking about in Antarctica. She wondered what kind of person Wynter was back then when he first became Jack Frost. And if the Guardians loved her so much, she had to be something special. But then Jack said something about her and Wynter being similar, which certainly explained why the Guardians supposedly also loved _her_ so much, but why did Pitch hate her so much for it? How similar were they?

"Who is Wynter? What does she have to do with me?" she said to E.E. But she didn't expect it to know anything. "This has something to do with her. I know it does. But what is it?" She shook it and it rattled like a bell. "There's something in it."

Setting her egg down, Alba carefully inspected the pearl until she found a crack. In that little crevice, she saw a sliver of light. The crack grew wider until the whole shell came apart and Alba was completely enveloped in the light.

**-X-**

Everything was fuzzy at first. But wherever she was, she felt safe and warm. When everything became clear, she saw herself in a room. Everything seemed bigger than usual. The lofty walls were decorated in beautiful colors and immaculate illustrations. There were trinkets floating in the air and crawling on the floor indicating that it was a fun environment. It was amazing. But the most astounding sight was the large window in front of her. Outside, she saw dazzling stars and, from afar, a blue and green planet. Was that Earth?

"_Playing with your telescope, I see."_

She turned and saw a man. He was big like Santa Claus and he looked just as jolly, but he appeared more stout. He was also bald, having only one strand of hair that curled over his head whimsically. When she saw the man standing over her, she couldn't help smiling.

"_I wanted to see Earth again, Papa!"_

"_Wouldn't you rather go there yourself?"_

She gasped exuberantly. _"Can I?"_

The man held out his hand. _"Happy Birthday, my little girl."_

She couldn't help herself. She went over and hugged the large man with all her might. _"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love you, Papa!"_

"_And I love you."_

Everything that happened next went by like a blur.

…

"_Welcome, welcome, little one! How would you like helping me work on my next project?"_

"_It would be an honor to work with you, Santa!"_

…

"_Hello, mate. Ready to colors some eggs?"_

"_You bet!"_

…

"_This is amazing, Tooth! I've never seen so many teeth!"_

"_Well, a tooth fairy's work is never done."_

…

"_Sandy, this is incredible! I wish I could make dreams come true like that."_

"…"

"_Oh, you're so sweet."_

…

"_I'm… Jack. Jack Frost. Or at least, that was what the moon told me. I don't remember who I am."_

_"That's okay. I don't remember much of my life, either. Maybe we can make some new memories."_

_"Yeah… I'd like that."_

…

"_Papa, was leaving Jack really the right thing to do? He's all by himself now. And with Pitch out there—"_

"_Pitch will not harm the boy. He'll know what his purpose is soon enough, just as you will."_

"_But I know how he feels. I'm already losing my memories as it is. If I were to completely forget about everyone I loved, I wouldn't know what to do…"_

…

"_You stupid, naïve girl. You really think after all these years that you still protect these children from the darkness, falsify their hopes and aspirations with a simple white lie? You're as foolish as your father."_

"_No, my father is not a fool! And as long as the children believe in the Guardians, there will always be a light to defend against the darkness!"_

…

"_As long as the moon is shining your way, I will always look out for you. I love you, Wynter…"_

**-X-**

Alba gasped. Everything she saw—it looked so real—it _felt_ so real. They were memories—_her_ memories. But how was that possible? Looking at her hands, she saw that the remains of the pearl she was holding moments ago were replaced with baby teeth, each one holding one of the memories she just saw.

Without a second thought, Alba grabbed E.E. and ran outside. Jack and Pitch were gone. It was just the moon. It had always been _just_ the moon, until now. But now she now understood it was more. She understood everything: why she could still see the Guardians even at the age of seventeen; why she never fit in with other people her age; why she never had a nightmare; why she would always be a child. She knew who she was. Who she _really_ was.

A harsh whinny brought her out of her thoughts, making her alert. Apparently, Pitch decided to keep his nightmares here in case she finally came out. But Pitch hadn't considered one thing:

"I'm back."

* * *

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been really busy lately. I'll try to update faster since this story is nearly over.**

_**R&R!**_


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

This night was going to be a long one, I could tell. With Pitch out to get Jamie, and with the Guardians so powerless, we didn't stand a chance.

I had successfully led Pitch away from Alba at the moment. For some reason, he still thought Alba was Wynter, and he wanted to end her once and for all. But I wasn't going to let him lay a finger on her _or_ Jamie, not while I was at my full potential.

"Jack Frost!" Pitch cried angrily.

"Stay away from Alba!" I shouted. "Your beef is with me, not her!"

I went full blast on Pitch, but he was able to deflect my attacks flawlessly. "That little trick doesn't work on me anymore!"

He retaliated and sent me flying harshly into an alley. For once, I was grateful to be immortal because I wouldn't have been able to survive that drop otherwise.

"Jack!" Jamie and the others came over and helped me up.

"That was good try, Jack," Santa said. "'A' for effort!"

I tried to catch my breath. "He's stronger. I can't beat him."

Nefarious laughter echoed through the alley, and a daunting shadow cast over us. He was here. "All this fuss over one little boy, and still he refuses to stop believing. Very well. There are other ways to snuff out a light."

"If you want him, you're gonna have to go through me," Bunny said.

Pitch just laughed. "Look how fluffy you are. Would you like a scratch behind the ears?"

"Don't you even think about it!"

"I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see you all like this." Pitch's nightmares began to enter the alley. He came in riding one of them with that stupid, despicable grin on his face. "You look awful."

We pulled Jamie behind us, the little protection we could provide for him in our feeble condition. However, the further we strayed from the shadows, the closer they came. "Jack. I'm scared." I knelt in front of Jamie and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. I knew he had to be scared, but I didn't know what to say. It probably would've been better if Alba was here to alleviate his fears; she always knew what to say. But she was safe where she was now, and she wouldn't have been able to do much more with an injury.

I remembered something similar to this situation. It was from one of my lost memories. Instead of Jamie being in front of me, it was my sister. She was on the crackling ice in her skates, her eyes filled with fear.

"_Jack. I'm scared."_

"_I know, I know. But you're gonna be alright…"_

"We're gonna have a little fun instead… That's it. My center…" I knew what I had to do.

"So what do you think, Jamie?" Pitch said as he came closer. "Do you believe in the Boogey—_Ah!_" All of a sudden, Pitch got hit with a snowball. What a hit!

… But I didn't do it.

Of course, everybody looked at me.

"Frost," Pitch growled.

I held my hands up in defense. "Wasn't me."

The others laughed, even Jamie. When Pitch looked at them, they stopped. "Enough playing around…!" He was hit again, this time at the back of the head. Now he knew it wasn't my fault. "Come out, you vile…!" The snowballs kept coming until Pitch finally had enough. "Who keeps doing that?!"

I heard a giggle from behind him. "Boo."

Pitch's nightmare bucked and he fell off the horse in surprise. He looked up and gasped. Everyone else did as well. I was utterly speechless. Behind where Pitch used to be, a beautiful young woman with white hair, a snowy little dress, ashen skin, and dazzling gray eyes hovered. She had her chin resting on her hands, smiling coyly at the frightened gray man. "Miss me, Pitch?"

"Well, I'll be," Bunny said.

"I can't believe it," North whispered.

"It's really her," Tooth marveled. "It's…"

"Alba?" Jamie said. He was able to recognize his cousin even under all that… white, while the Guardians saw someone else. "You look…"

"Different. I know."

I couldn't believe it. Alba was Wynter. Wynter was Alba. I had been trying to convince myself it wasn't true for five years. Apparently, I wasn't wrong. But that didn't mean I wasn't a little confused.

"So, it's true. You're Wynter."

She flew over to me and smiled. "Call me Alba."

"B-But how…"

She held up the chain. "You dropped something."

I stared at it until I realized what it was. My hand immediately went to my chest. The little pearl that used to be around my neck was gone. I didn't even realize it. "I still don't understand."

"The little pearl I gave you contained my baby teeth. I couldn't let Pitch get to them, so I gave them to you because I knew I could trust you." Man, I wanted to kiss her so much right now. To think my first friend was actually my current best friend and the girl I loved… This night suddenly just got better, even though Pitch was trying to take over the world.

Speaking of Pitch, he was still on the ground in a daze. We had to get out of here before he came to. Earlier when I harshly landed, I had spotted some trash lids and planks that resembled a sled. Perfect for sliding on the ice. I looked at Wynter—Alba (I was still a little confused) and we nodded at each other.

"Let's go get your friends, Jamie," I said.

Soon enough, Jamie and the Guardians were all sliding down an ice trail I made. Alba flew beside me, occasionally sliding on the ice next to Jamie. It was nice, seeing her smile and laugh. The last time I saw her smile was before when I went to Pitch's lair for the first time. Biggest mistake of my life.

We eventually flew over towards Jamie's neighborhood. I threw snowballs at his friends' houses and made it snow in their rooms like I did for Jamie. I took him over to their windows so Jamie could convince them to come outside. For once, it was funny knowing they couldn't see me; to them, Jamie was floating in the air. Their reactions were hilarious.

"Jamie, how are you doing that?"

"Jack Frost!" he said. "We need your help! Come on!"

"Whoa… is that Alba?"

"And Jack Frost!"

"Jamie, you were right! The Easter Bunny's real!"

"The Tooth Fairy!"

"And Santa!"

"They're all real!"

I didn't understand how it worked, but a few dashes of my magical frost and the kids were able to see me. They were believing in me! And the more kids who believed in me, the more kids believed in the Guardians, which meant that we still had a chance against Pitch.

But even Jamie's friends weren't enough. When we turned the corner, we saw a vicious army of Pitch's nightmares waiting for us. "You think a few children can help you? Against this?" A swarm of nightmares surrounded the perimeter. We were trapped. And we were still weak. Santa tried to stand up to Pitch, but without his powers, he was just an old man. Tooth's wings were still nonfunctioning, Bunny was still small, and I had already tried and failed. There was nothing we could do.

Jamie and the other kids looked frightened; they had to be, seeing that their childhood heroes weren't strong enough to protect them. Alba must've noticed this, too, because gave Jamie a reassuring look. "They're just bad dreams, Jamie."

Pitch laughed at her. "You foolish, naïve girl. You really think after all these years that you can still protect these children from the darkness, falsify their hopes and aspirations with a simple white lie? But I don't blame you, dear. After all, it's easy to lie to children when you can lie to yourself for long…"

Alba glared at him. "Ignore him, Jamie. I know it's frightening, but everything's going to be okay. These nightmares don't have to affect you unless you let them. As long as there's still hope, you can always find light in the darkness. You have to believe that we'll be able to protect you."

"Yeah, we'll protect you, mate," added Bunny.

"Aw, how cute. _You'll_ protect them?" Pitch mocked. "Even with your newly restored power, _Wynter_, you are still not strong enough, not even to fend for your precious Guardians, and they can barely stand on their own feet. So while you're wasting your time protecting these children, who will protect _you_?"

Even Alba didn't have an answer for that. She was completely thwarted. She looked at each of the Guardians helplessly until her eyes fell on me. I was the only one with enough power to do anything even though my power couldn't match up to Pitch's. I had to do everything I could to protect the Guardians, the kids, and Alba; I wasn't going to let Pitch touch them. My eyes told her that and she silently agreed.

I was about to step forward when Jamie suddenly said, "I will." He came up in front of me and Alba without hesitation.

"I will," said Cupcake as she also made her way beside Jamie, followed by the twins.

"And me."

"I-I'll try."

I watched with curiosity and admiration as the kids stood in front of us. Even though they were only children, it still meant a lot, especially to the Guardians. While it was our duty to protect them from people like the Boogeyman, it was theirs to believe and to carry on legend so we could continue to spread joy. Jamie looked back at me and smiled. He wasn't leaving, no matter what.

Once again, Pitch merely cackled. "Still think there's no such thing as the Boogeyman?"

"I do believe in you," Jamie said. "I'm just not afraid of you."

The swarm of nightmares was quickly approaching us. Whether they were afraid or not, Jamie and his friends stayed put. Together, with the Guardians, we all stood firm. I had to admit this was the scariest day of my life, but as I stood still, waiting for Pitch's army to consume us into darkness, I felt Alba take my hand and I was no longer afraid. We were in this together, in darkness or light.

But before Pitch's black sand enveloped us, something extraordinary happened. As soon as Jamie came in contact with the sand, it turned into gold and we were surrounded by streams of dream sand. Jamie's belief replaced his fear and transformed the nightmares, and it was enough to restore Tooth and North's power.

"Alba, you were right!" Jamie said. She smiled brightly and laughed, marveling the sand around her.

"No!" Pitch cried. "Get them!"

North took out two snow globes and summoned some of his yetis friends to join us, along with a few of his toys.

Shortly after, Bunny was back to his regular size and summoned some of his giant stone egg friends.

With this new army, we were starting to win, and Pitch was starting to get angry. Or angrier, I should say. With his nightmares staggering, he began to focus on a new target. I saw his fiery gaze on Alba. She was completely oblivious, or so I thought. When Pitch lunged at her, she quickly flew up. "You're going to have to be quicker than that!"

He scowled and went after her again. I quickly followed them before they got too far. I hit him with my frost, momentarily diverting his anger towards me. "Alba, go help Jamie!" She nodded and flew away towards the kids. My plan had worked, but it also made him very furious.

I was caught completely by surprise when he took a shot at me, but then Tooth quickly blocked it. "Thanks, Tooth!" It wasn't long until the other Guardians joined us (except for North, who accidentally appeared on top of another roof). The big guy was able to knock him off his nightmare, but that didn't deter him. With of scythe of black sand, Pitch kept swinging at us to no end. The battle went on until all of us had him cornered. "It's over, Pitch," I said. "There's no place to hide."

I thought it was finally over. Pitch had nowhere to go; he had no tricks left! But then a peculiar smile grew on his face, and he quickly disappeared into the shadows. I expected nothing less from the Boogeyman. He was everywhere, on every wall, underneath our feet, a beast ready to pounce on its prey. To think I thought things were just starting to get easy.

"Jack, look out!"

Bunny threw his boomerang, but Pitch was able to dodge it. His scythe was ready to slice me in half. But before he could even hit me, a whip of golden sand grabbed him and yanked him into the air. He fell face first in front of Alba. "How do you always manage to get in my way?!" he said angrily. "I destroyed you!"

"You've underestimated me, Pitch. You can't get rid of me that easily."

I kept my eyes closely on Pitch. I didn't feel too comfortable seeing Alba up there facing him alone. She looked at me, as if sensing my distress, and winked. I waited to see what she had planned.

"You think just because a few children suddenly start to believe in the Guardians again that you still stand chance against me? You're just a speck of light compared me. I believe that _I_ am the one being underestimated."

"I think you've forgotten that I remember everything now, which means I'm not going to fall for the same trick twice. I'm not afraid anymore. Those memories were bad, but they're nothing. And as long as I have my friends, the darkness will also be nothing."

Pitch chuckled bitterly under his breath. "So what are you going do with me? _Nothing?_"

Alba backed away. "Exactly. I'm not like you, Pitch. Revenge isn't my thing, so I'm just going to let my little friend deal with you."

She quickly flew away, allowing a swirl of dream sand to take her place. We all watched in awe as the swirl transformed into our dearly beloved companion, the Sandman. Pitch shuddered in fear. No doubt Sandy was out for revenge. With a swing of his fist, Sandy sent the Boogeyman up as quickly as he pulled him back down. Man, did I miss that guy.

We all went to welcome Sandy back from wherever he was. Alba was the last to join us, running over to hug her sandy friend. "I missed you so much," she said. She was practically crying. "I missed you all." She got up and looked at the Guardians.

"We missed you too, mate," Bunny said. All the Guardians joined together in a group hug. I had never seen Alba so happy. She finally knew where she had come from. I couldn't imagine how she felt—oh wait, I could. But after claiming she was perfectly fine not knowing where she came from, she was probably overwhelmed with joy and confusion, maybe even more so than I had been when I recovered my own memories.

"What happened to you?" Tooth asked. All the Guardians waited intensely for an answer. I couldn't help staring myself. Pitch had done something to Wynter in the past. In a way, I was thankful because I had Alba. But the pain she had to go through to get where she was now was probably unfathomable, and I could never forgive him for that.

Alba quickly wiped her tears away. "It's a long story, but I think we better take care of him first."

We all looked at Pitch, who was sprawled on the ground, pretty much unconscious. While the moment was right, Sandy went up and began to work his magic. Dreams conjured from his sand spread far and wide throughout the town, once again sending the children of Burgess into a blissful sleep. It felt so long since we'd seen Sandy in action; even though I had seen it a million times, it was still an incredible sight. Kids had big dreams—infinite, fantastical dreams, and it was always fascinating seeing how far their imaginations went. It was like I was in a dream of my own, an incredibly awesome dream.

"Think fast!" Something cold and wet hit the back of my neck. Alba stood behind me with a bubbly smile and a snowball in hand.

I smirked. "You're going to regret that!" I made an especially icy snowball for her, but when I threw it, she immediately ducked. It hit Jamie in the back instead. He simply laughed and started making snowballs of his own. Our fun became contagious and everybody else joined in on our snowball fight. Everyone was having a blast; it was like the world wasn't almost taken over by darkness a few moments ago.

"Your center," North said.

"Yeah, it took a while," I confessed, "but I figured it out. I also got my friend back."

"No, Jack. You never lost her."

I smiled as I watched Alba throw a snowball at Bunny. I laughed. North was right; even in white, I still saw Alba. I saw Jamie and his friends and the Guardians and the yetis and the elves and the tooth fairies together. This was how it was supposed to be.

Everything was back to normal.

Well, almost everything.

Pitch, who was still lying in the snow, finally came to. "You dare have fun in my presence? I am the Boogeyman and you will fear me!" The Guardians and I momentarily stopped our fun to see what he would do, but we weren't too concerned. When he went to grab Jamie, he ran through Pitch like a mist. "No! No…" The kids weren't afraid of him anymore, which meant that he was no longer visible. He looked so pitiful.

But despite how pathetic he was at the moment, I was done feeling sorry for him. (Well, maybe I left a little room for pity. I was invisible to kids for 300 years, after all.) And now that he had no power, there was only one place he could go.

As soon as he ran off, we made our move. The Guardians, Alba, and I went off to the forest where the lake resided. Pitch arrived just in time. He ran into North's chest and fell harshly on the ice.

"Leaving so soon?" North said.

"You didn't even say goodbye," Tooth snidely added. She tossed something at him.

"A quarter?" Out of the blue, Tooth knocked a tooth right out of him. I was actually stupefied; I didn't know Tooth had it in her. "And that's for my fairies, and Alba."

"You can't get rid of me!" Pitch exclaimed. "Not forever. There will always be fear."

"So what?" Santa scoffed off. "As long as one child believes, we will be here to fight fear."

"Really? Then what are _they_ doing here?"

Pitch's nightmares started to gather around us. However, they didn't seem interested about us.

The big guy laughed. "They can't be _my _nightmares. I'm not afraid."

"Looks like it's your fear they smell," I happily pointed out to him. Pitch's face was priceless.

The Boogeyman run off immediately, but the nightmares caught up to him quickly and dragged him back into the manhole from whence he came. Fear was gone, for the time being, but it was a celebration. After all, we finally defeated Pitch. As far as we were concerned, it was over.

"Are you ready now, Jack?" North asked. "To make it official."

I looked at Alba, who stood beside Bunnymund. It seemed everybody had been ready for this moment except for me. Before, I wasn't sure I had the potential to become one of them and I made so many mistakes—ones that I regret and ones that made me grow stronger—and after that pandemic with Pitch, I knew I was ready. It was time for me to take my Oath as an honorary Guardian.

One of the yetis came over and handed North the catechesis for my commencement. "Will you, Jack Frost, vow to watch over the children of the world, to guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams, for they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be?"

I turned and saw that Jamie and his friends had joined us on the ice. Jamie smiled at me especially, as if he knew what was going on, and he probably did. For as long as I knew him, he was a bright kid, one of a kind. What he had was just as special as what other kids had, and something like that needed to be protected and cherished. At that moment, I knew I wouldn't let anything happen to him. "I will."

"Then, congratulations, Jack Frost, for you are now, and forevermore, a Guardian."

Everybody cheered. Now was an even greater time for celebration. North picked me up and kissed me on both cheeks. It was weird, but it made me smile stupidly. The fairies started swooning over me again before Tooth scolded them. Suddenly, Santa's sleigh came and landed swiftly on the lake. The reindeer stood proudly in front of the sleigh as the children marveled over it.

"I'm so proud of you, Jack." Alba came up to me with that smile of hers. "I told you you'd make an awesome Guardian."

"Yeah, I know. In a way, I couldn't have done it without you."

"So… are you glad Wynter's back?"

I took her hands. "I did miss Wynter and I'm glad she never really left me, but that doesn't matter anymore, Alba. I love _you_, and only you."

I was about to lean in for a kiss when North suddenly tapped my shoulder. "Time to go."

I nodded. Now was the time to say goodbye. I watched as Bunny was saying goodbye to Sophie, who was inexplicably able to find her way outside. The rest of Jamie's friends were too fascinated by Sandy's fireworks display to say anything. Jamie came up to me looking pretty anxious.

"You're leaving? But what if Pitch comes back? What if we stop believing again? If I can't see you…"

"Hey, slow down, slow down." I knelt down in front of him. "You're telling me you stop believing in the moon when the sun comes up?"

"No."

"Okay. Well, do you stop believing in the sun when clouds block it out?"

"No."

"We'll always be there, Jamie. And now, we'll always be here." I poked at his chest. "Which kind of makes you a Guardian, too. And if you ever do stop believing, you'll have Alba there to remind you, right?"

"Right."

"Good. I'll see you around, Jamie." As soon as I turned to leave, Jamie called out to me, and before I knew it, he had me by the waist. It had been so long since I was hugged by a kid (my little sister to be exact), so I was slow to react at first. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around Jamie and hugged him tightly. It felt good.

When he let go, Alba walked up to us. "Come on, Jamie. It's time to go home."

"You're not going with them?"

I got up and looked at Alba. I was wondering the same.

But sadly, she shook her head. "I'm not a Guardian, not officially, anyway."

"But then what…"

"I still need time to really figure out who I am. Besides, I need to take these two home." She gestured towards Jamie and Sophie, who were now holding hands.

"Oh, right."

"Don't look so down, Jack. You're still coming to my party, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I didn't forget."

Before I left, I kissed Alba, the seconds lingering by slowly. I heard gagging noises coming from the peanut gallery behind Alba. When I pulled away, I saw that Alba's appearance had gone back to normal. It was good to see her this way knowing she had never really changed. "Bye, Alba."

"Bye, Jack."

I jumped on the sleigh, waving back to Jamie and Alba as we began to fly away. Even though I would see them again, I was sure going to miss them.

But I knew my adventure was far from over.

* * *

**I was meaning to post this chapter on Easter, but I couldn't finish it in time. But later better than never! One more chapter to go!**

_**R&R!**_


	10. Epilogue

**Well, I didn't get ten votes, but by majority rule, this is the last chapter of "Legion". Sorry it took so long.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Epilogue**

Today was a special day.

Three days after the fiasco with Pitch, everything had suddenly gone back to normal. But it was hard for Alba to forget about something like that: the nightmares, the darkness, the hopelessness… However, all those past scares became just that. And she wasn't going to let any of those terrifying memories ruin her special day.

"Hey, Alba!" She stopped staring out the window and turned around when she heard her little cousins Jamie and Sophie running towards her. "They're about to cut the cake without you! Hurry before Cupcake eats it all!"

"Cake! Cake!" Sophie echoed.

Alba laughed. "Okay, okay! I'm coming!"

The kids each grabbed a hand and pulled her into the living room where everyone was waiting. Her birthday at first was just going to be a family affair, but after the Pitch incident, she decided to invite Jamie's friends. And after everything they'd been through together, she felt she could call them her friends as well.

She smiled, seeing her parents' beaming faces as their little girl joined them. Though they weren't her real parents, they raised her and loved her like they were blood, and her relatives were no different. But even with the throng of loving relatives that surrounded her, she couldn't ignore the three-layered cake in front of her. The delectable cake was bordered with ice-blue frosting and decorated with sky blue flowers, which suited her well. Six candles were stationed on each layer, indicating her coming of age.

Her mother came up behind her and whispered, "Make a wish, sweetheart."

Alba only had one wish in mind, and with a large inhale, she blew out the candles. Everyone clapped for her and she blushed, realizing she was in the spotlight. After getting the first slice, Alba went back to the window, her eyes slowly drifting back up to the moon. Many of her relatives came and went to give her their blessings and sometimes even exchanged a hug. Suddenly, an arrow was drawn on the window before it was completely consumed by frost. Setting her cake down, Alba quickly grabbed a throw and made sure no one was paying attention before heading outside.

It was snowing outside, and it was a welcoming sight. Wrapping the throw around her naked arms, Alba couldn't help marveling the snowflakes, despite the cold. She knew that someone was bound to notice her absence any minute, but she didn't care.

"Did you make a wish?"

Alba smiled when she heard the familiar voice and spun around. "Yeah," she said. "And the cake was good, too."

Jack smirked. "I can tell." He held out his finger and touched her cheek, drawing it back until she saw something white and frosty. He tasted it and smiled widely. "Mmm… That is some _good_ frosting. So, what'd you wish for?"

She put a finger to her lip and smiled coyly. "That's a secret." She wiped her mouth, making sure there weren't any remainder of cake on her face. "Thanks for coming, Jack."

"I wouldn't miss my girlfriend's birthday for anything. And I got you something, too."

"Jack, you didn't have to—"

"No, no, no. This is _your_ special day, which means you deserve something special."

"I thought the snowfall was my something special."

"Nope, your boyfriend's just getting started." Alba rolled her eyes. Ever since they confessed their feelings for each other, Jack became a little zealous about their relationship. Hopefully, this "your boyfriend/my girlfriend" thing would fade away. "Watch closely." Jack held out his hands and Alba watched curiously.

His magical frost swirled in his palms. When it cleared up, she saw a heart. She gasped in surprise. "Jack… It's beautiful."

He smiled this time, taking in the enticed look on her face. "I thought you'd like it."

"Like it? I can't think of a better gift." Alba thought about her wish, but she decided not to mention it. With the chain that used to hold Wynter's pearl filled with baby teeth, Jack linked the heart to the chain and put it around Alba's neck. She planted her lips on his warmly. "Thank you."

Jack kissed her again. "Happy Birthday, Alba."

**-X-**

My name's Jack Frost, and I'm a Guardian. How do I know this? Because the Moon told me so. And I wouldn't give this up for anything. Except, maybe, for the girl I loved.

* * *

**R&R!**

**Be sure to look for the sequel, "Legion II: The Birthright".**


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